A New Path
by Shadow of Intent
Summary: After Cole and Malladus's unexpected betrayal, Byrne sneaks off of link's train when the group isn't around; hoping to find a new purpose for himself. what happens when Retsu of the lone wolves helps him find his way out of the shadows?
1. Not Alone

**Hey Guys, hope you all enjoy the story. I noticed there was only a few fics with Byrne and I was kind of disappointed. When I played Spirit Tracks, Byrne instantly became one of my favorite characters. He looked really mysterious, and the gauntlet on his arm looked badass! But even though he was a villain, I felt kind of bad him for after all the shit he had been through and was glad he decided to turn good and take link's side. I CAN'T BELIEVE THEY KILLED SUCH AN AWESOME CHARACTER!!!! And Kira, if your reading this you've got nothing to worry about…The smut is minor and clean. ENJOY!!! XD **

…**I DON'T OWN ZELDA…**

"_Why…How could he do this to me?"_

Byrne cursed inwardly while gripping his wounded arm as he walked along the track trial of the lost woods. After Link and Zelda left for the final temple, he managed to sneak away from Anjean while she was praying to the spirits.

He didn't know how he managed to do it, seeing that he had 3 broken ribs, numerous cuts on his chest, and a large gash on his left arm that wouldn't seem to heal and was broken. It had been 2 days since he had taken a break, figuring the boy would end up coming after him once he found out he had escaped.

"Hn, they shouldn't even be called spirits; more like ungrateful bastards." He groaned in pain nearly tripping over a rock. After another ten minutes of walking, his legs finally gave in from exhaustion and he collapsed on his side against the dirt trial.

"I did everything they asked and fought for them and this is my reward…A meaningless and painful death." He couldn't help but chuckle as he turned over to lie on his back and stare at the sky.

"_Maybe this is for the best…I betrayed Anjean and the other lokomos; plus the Demon king wouldn't even accept me…It seems I belong nowhere in this world._"

He groaned in pain again as the bloody gash on his arm throbbed, and then turned his head to the side to let out a hard cough; only to notice a small patch of golden flowers not too far from him. He reached out and gently touched the petals of one with his clawed fingers; allowing a small smile to form on his cloth covered lips.

"Its times like these I wish I could grow stronger and stronger like your kind do everyday…" he sighed softly, then yawned as he felt his eyelids begin to grow heavy.

"_Maybe dying won't be so bad after all. The boy should be able to handle Malladus and Cole once he gets the Bow of light. And I'm sure Anjean will find another apprentice sooner or later; they don't need me anymore…"_

Smiling once more, His eyes fully closed and his arm fell to the ground next to the flowers softly.

"_Now I can finally…Rest…"_

* * *

"Man, can't a girl take a walk in peace?" a dark haired woman in a Keaton mask growled very irritated as she jumped from tree to tree; an angry mothula hot on her tail. The giant insect let out an ear pounding screech, then released a large toxic bubble toward her; which she dodged with ease.

"Oh to hell with this!" The woman quickly turned around and pulled out a small dagger from her cloak pocket and skillfully launched it at its large eye.

With a cry of pain the large insect fell to the forest floor and slowly began to fade away. The woman jumped to the ground and walked up to the overgrown bug while removing the Keaton mask from her face. A pair of crimson eyes glared down at it while she smirked.

"May you burn in hell my friend; no one messes with Retsu of the Lone wolves and gets away with it." She murmured as she walked away.

She continued walking, only to lean against large tree and pull out a small material bag full of red berries. She took a few in her hand and tossed them one by one in her mouth, while looking up at the sky.

"_I swear the things I do for you sis…You better appreciate this or im seriously going to sic a wolfo on you."_

After eating, she resumed walking and turning on different paths; but stopped when she was near the exit.

"Oh crap, I forgot to check the flowers!" She smacked her face with a hand, then turned around and began to sprint back the way she came.

"_Man, she's going to kill me if I come home late again or worse; she'll end up sending the Wolfos on me! And I can't have tha-What the hell?"_

Retsu immediately broke away from her thoughts and stopped in her tracks when her eyes were welcomed by the presence of someone lying beside her small garden.

"Hey excuse me, sir?" She called out.

No movement

She slowly walked near the body, and then gasped noticing that parts of his body were covered in blood and deep cuts. She ran up to him and dropped to her knees; slowly putting her head to his chest and a hand to his bandana covered neck.

"_He's still breathing…"_She sighed with relief and pulled herself from his chest; then carefully began to do a small check up on his body.

"_He's lost a lot of blood, looks like he has some broken bones too…And he's so cold. I wonder who did this to him."_

When she finished with her inspection, she reached over and pulled his pony tail upward, causing his head to look up at her; still passed out of course.

"Your one lucky fellow" She replied the released his hair as if not interested anymore and allowed his head to hit the dirt. That's when she noticed his Mechanical arm laying amongst the flowers. She gently picked it up and allowed a small smile to form on her lips when she found a small golden flower stuck between his sharp clawed fingers. She softly pulled it loose, and then set it behind her ear.

"Your one lucky fellow indeed."

Without a moment to spare, she grabbed both of Byrne's arms and pulled his upper body up as gently as possible to not cause further pain. She turned around and set both the arms over her shoulders, then pulled both his legs around her waist. After she made sure he was securely on her back, she looked to the sky once more then began to jog back towards the exit.

"_Very lucky indeed, he would have been Skulltula food if I hadn't showed up or even possibly could have died over night from hypothermia. Oh well, I better get home fast or we'll both end up Spider food."_ She groaned at the thought then began to jog faster as the once blue sky began to turn orange.

* * *

"_Why do I feel so…warm…am I dead?"_

Byrne cracked his eyes open slightly, noticing he was no longer surrounded by trees and dirt, but bright sun light and fast moving objects; which caused him to shut his eyes tightly and bury his face further in the unexpected warmth.

Thoughts of who had saved soon filled his head. His first thought was Link and Zelda but he soon discarded that from his head since there was no way they would be able to carry him at such a speed. But he soon figured it had to be a woman when he felt the soft fabric resting against his skin.

"_I'm getting blood on her…" _He thought guiltily and he wondered why he would care about something as stupid as that.

She smelt nice, and those golden flowers he had saw earlier were the first to come to mind; they had shared the exact same scent, which he still couldn't figure out what it was yet.

Before he could think anything else, he felt himself start to slip out of consciousness again and he didn't fight it. He inhaled deeply, letting the wonderful fragrance fall over him and he knew full well that his life rested in the hands of the sweet smelling lady.

Retsu Turned her head back when she felt him try and press deeper in the side of her neck and inhale deeply. She smiled then turned to face the trail again, increasing her speed.

"This should be interesting."

**End of chapter…**

**Let me know if it's any good so far, this took me forever to write yo! I promise the next chapter will be more interesting and who knows; maybe ill add little fluff. ;)**

**REVIEW PLEASE!!!**


	2. More than meets the eye

**Okay, chapter one was kind of short, but I promise the next few chapters will be longer. Its testing time and I've got nothing better to do sadly, the weather has been horrible lately as well…Anyway, characters Retsu, Kat, and Damian belong to me and my buddies Danny and Kira; Byrne and the rest is a negative…Wish they were though! XD**

Pain…All he felt was pain…

"_I'm disappointed in you Byrne."_

"_You're too weak, and you call yourself a lokomo!"_

_"__Nyee hee hee! Thank you for your help. But you are too gullible, my friend. Don't you know that Malladus will never give you new power? After all...You were once the servant of those disgusting spirits. What a buffoon you are. Thank you for your help indeed, you blind fool!__"_

"_N-no…You're wrong!"_

"_Hey, are you okay?"_

"_Anjean…?"_

"_Anjean? Who's that?"_

Byrne's eyes shot open and loud thud filled his ears soon after. Finding himself in what looked like a bed; he sat up while groaning in pain and looked to his side.

A young teenage girl with hazel eyes and shoulder length raven hair was found on the ground. She wore a black T-shirt with strange symbols written on the front and faded grey pants, along with a steel chain tied around her waist.

"Jesus man, way to give a girl a scare." She jumped to her feet with ease and slowly walked over to him.

"I-I'm sorry…" He groaned out and gripped his arm, which was throbbing in pain.

"Hey easy there, do you want to reopen your wounds?" She laughed slightly and removed the blanket that covered his body. Byrne looked down to find his chest wrapped in bandages and his broken arm in a homemade splint cast; then tried to cover himself when he noticed he was only in his pants.

"Who are you and why am I half naked?"

"I should be asking you that, and their being washed. I'm sorry but we didn't have anything suitable for replacements." She replied as she gave his body a quick inspection.

"My name is…Byrne." He looked away somewhat embarrassed when warm hands came in contact with his chest.

"Names Kat…Hn, you're a pretty lucky guy you know? You would have died overnight in the woods if your wounds weren't treated sooner or later." She turned around and sat in a chair next to the bed.

Byrne gasped, the past events replayed in his head. All he could remember was Malladus attacking him, running and walking for days without rest, passing out besides those beautiful golden flowers, and then…heavenly scents and warmth calling him into a deep sleep.

"Are you the one who…saved me?" He turned his head and gave her a curious stare.

"Oh no ha-ha, my sister was the one who brought you here. I helped stitch your arm and clean your wounds up though."

"Your sister…? Where am I exactly?"

"Not too far from Aboda village, I'll show you around later once you've healed a bit more."

"Where is your…sister?"

"She'll be back soon; I'm going to get us some tea, would you like something to eat?" She asked as she got up from her seat.

"No thank you, tea will be fine…" He replied softly and leaned his back against the bed post.

"All right then, just give me a shout if you change your mine." She left the room and shut the door behind her.

Byrne sighed and brought a hand to his face, but pulled it away when he felt that his bandana was still tightly wrapped around his face.

"_It seems they have some respect for my privacy after all…" _He smiled and began to take in his surroundings. There was a large window just a few feet from the bed, along with a book shelf right next to it; which was stockpiled with books. The walls were a light violet and covered with masks, causing his eyes to wander almost everywhere and widen from time to time. There were masks of every kind: animal, tribal, creepy, demon, common and some he had never seen before in his long years of life.

He then looked up to the ceiling, noticing that it was a light gray instead of violet like the rest of the room and a large symbol written in black was painted in the middle. He had to turn his head to the side to try and read it; part of it was written in hylian and another language he wasn't familiar with. And with that, a large red bird, a black dog, a dark purple cat, and an icy blue dragon circled it.

"Pretty cool huh?" Byrne jumped at the voice and averted his gaze toward the door to find Kat walking up to him with a tray of two cups. She sat down in the chair once more and carefully handed him one.

"I must admit, I've never seen anything like it." Byrne laughed and accepted the cup, looking around the room once more.

"My sister made all these masks; It's sort of her hobby." She replied and took a sip of her tea.

"I see…" He muttered somewhat amused, then averted his gaze back toward the ceiling.

"We painted that together a long time ago…"

"You and your sister? What does it mean?" He sat his cup on the tray.

"That story will be for another my friend." A new voice announced.

The pair looked to the entry way. A tall crimson eyed woman dressed in tattered grey shorts and a loose dark blue robe which was tied with what looked like a blue silk belt stood in the doorway. her hair, which was black, was tied in a sort of pony-tail, and on the lower part of her head was braided. Her pale skin seemed to glow in the sun light as she walked over to them and sat on the end of the bed.

"It's about time you showed up sis, I was starting to get worried." Kat sighed a little upset and put her cup aside.

"Well excuse me; we're not the only ones that need to eat around here. I've only been out for about an hour so calm down." The woman laughed then turned her attention to Byrne.

"Your Kat's sister?" Byrne asked somewhat amazed and confused.

"Yeah, the names Retsu, and I never got your name seeing you've been out like a light for the past two days." She grinned and dropped herself on the bed, rolling on her stomach to face him.

"I'm…Byrne…You're the one who saved me correct…?"

"Well your alive aren't you? You're lucky I found you in time or you would have been insect food. What were you thinking running around in the forest all torn up like that?"

Byrne gulped and scratched the back of his head a little nervous. He knew he couldn't tell them about his past crimes and mistakes; or the fact he was hiding from link and the others.

"I was…ambushed."

"Ambushed by what exactly? You looked like you got hit by a train." He could feel beads of sweat begin to form on the back of his neck. He didn't know why, but he felt as if her eyes could see right through him; and his eyes couldn't break away from hers either.

"Bulblin riders, a group of them attacked me when I was walking in the woods." He lied through his teeth but kept a straight face.

"Are you serious!? Those guys are the ones who did this to you?" Retsu quickly jumped to her feet.

"They got me by surprise, but I managed to scare them away once I took a few out." Byrne nearly sighed with relief; he was safe for now.

"Sis, I thought you said you took care of the Bulblin leader and his tribe already! Now I have to worry about getting attacked by them when I head to the kingdom everyday now!" Kat sighed and gripped the bridge of her nose in irritation.

"Well I didn't know they were hiding out in the woods! They're usually found around the plains; maybe they figured out that's where I hang out most of the time and thought they could catch me off guard?"

"Those things have attacked you before?" Byrne asked surprised, maybe this it was a bad idea to lie.

"Yeah, but they're no big deal. Just a bunch of slobs that love to terrorize everyone and think that they can take anything they want." Retsu sighed and scratched her head.

"It doesn't matter, this needs to be taken care of now. I can't even get decent sleep at night knowing they could easily burn this place down in a heartbeat."

"Awww, are you scared Kat!? You know I would never let that happen!" Retsu ran over to the hazel eyed girl and gave her a big hug.

"Man Ret, you smell like an animal!" Kat gagged and pushed her older sibling off, causing the other to pout.

"Sorry, the boys' dog piled me once I brought food out for them." Retsu laughed now and brought her sleeve up to her nose to smell.

"There are more people living here?"

Kat and Retsu looked at Byrne, then looked at each other and began to laugh. Byrne gave them a weird look, was his question really that funny?

"No, they're our pets. Can you stand? I'll show you." Retsu walked over to him and offered him her hand. But, instead of taking it, he gently pushed it away and carefully moved his legs over the side of the bed.

"No, its fine. I'll do it." He groaned in pain and slowly stood from the bed. But after his first feet steps, his knees gave in and he felt himself fall forward; until he felt an arm wrap around his upper body, stopping him from falling face first into the hardwood floor.

"It looks like to me you need some help." Retsu laughed and put his good arm over her shoulders and slowly begin to lead him over to the big bedroom window; Kat following behind them.

"_Im so useless…Im supposed to be stronger then the spirits, yet I can't even get on my own two legs without help."_Byrne thought in shame and let his head drop; but pulled his head up when his pony tail was suddenly tugged on.

"Check it out." Retsu smiled and helped him sit on the window sill, then plopped herself right next to him and inhaled deeply.

"T-this is incredible…" Byrne's gasped and let his eyes widen.

An entire acre of bright green grass along with patches of wild flowers, which was surrounded with tall wooden fence, laid before his eyes. Within the fenced area, White Wolfos were scattered everywhere. some ran along the green, while others were either lying down asleep, tackling each other playfully, or rolling around in dirt. There was also a large red stable near the gate fence, which was tightly shut.

"Me and Kat run a Wolfo farm; also known as "The House of Dogs!" Retsu exhaled and stretched her arms above her head.

"I've never seen anything like this before…You two built all this?" he smiled under his bandana and inhaled deeply through his nose. It was true, he had seen cucco and cow farms, but never had he heard of or seen a wolf farm.

"Yep, we built everything here; including this house." Kat stomped her foot to the floor a few times.

"You have quite a few dogs."

"Yeah I know…But it's only because…" Kat didn't finish her sentence.

"Hm?" Byrne turned his head toward her.

"Because humans have been killing them for their fur and fangs. They've killed so many that we just had to do something before these little guys became extinct around hyrule." Retsu spat and slammed her fist against the side, causing both Kat and Byrne to jump.

"Sis…"

"People think they're just mindless mutts that kill anything in sight…But they're wrong, there's more to them that meets the eye. Just because they look vicious and mean doesn't mean they are. Believe it or not, half the time they're full of love and just want someone to spend time with them." Retsu declared and placed a hand to her chest, shutting her eyes and smiling a little.

Byrne couldn't help but stare at the crimson eyed woman with a fond expression. Her words were from the bottom of her heart; she spoke with such passion and emotion that it made his heart skip a beat for some reason. He understood how she felt in a way, all his life he had trained hard and did whatever the other lokomos told him to do without complaint. And yet, they still treated him differently because of his appearance and hostility toward others or his focus on getting stronger and stronger. For some reason, he thought she looked somewhat beautiful the way she was right now.

"_What the hell am I thinking!? I just met her!"_Byrne hit his head with a fist a few times, trying to push those thoughts out of his head. But stopped when a hand gripped his shoulder.

"All right, I think it's time for you to go back to bed." Kat laughed and began to help him up.

"Yeah, those broken bones still need to heal." Retsu added and put his arm over her shoulder once more.

Byrne chuckled softly, not even bothering to protest this time as the two girls helped him.

* * *

"Are you comfortable?" Retsu asked as she juggled a dagger in her hand. Kat had gone to the kitchen to get them both something to eat.

"I'm quite fine thank you. You should be more careful with weapons like that, you might hurt yourself."

Retsu smirked, and then began to toss the dagger up in the air and catch it without even looking. He shook his head and sighed, knowing she wasn't going to listen either way.

"Look who's talking, your gauntlet was in pretty bad shape when I removed it. The Hand shot and claws were busted up and rusty on the inside." Retsu stuck her tongue out childishly and slid the knife in her robe.

"What did you do with it?" Byrne asked suspiciously now.

"I'm fixing it for you. Get the claws working properly, get a new chain for it, polish it a little and will look like brand new. You don't have to worry; you won't be using it for a while anyway, not with that arm."

"That's…Very thoughtful of you. You don't have to do this."

"Hey, it wasn't your fault you got mauled by the bastards. It's the least I can do for you." She smiled and sat in the chair Kat had sat in before.

"If there's any way I can repay you later on, let me know. I'll gladly fulfill any request you wish."

"Well, I guess you could tell me some basic things. Where are you from exactly?"

"_Should I tell her I'm a servant of the spirits? No…She'll think that's a lie."_

"I don't have a home…You can say im sort of a wanderer, I go from place to place."

"No home village huh…Any family or friends?"

"_Anjean…"_

"No…I never bothered to make any friends; I like to be alone." He lied again.

"Hm…I'm sorry to hear that. I don't have any family either or many friends as well."

"Isn't Kat your sister?"

"Oh no, we just say we're sisters because we've been friends for so long. We've never left each other's side and have always been there for one another." She grinned and crossed her arms behind her head.

"What about your parents?"

"…." Retsu's arms fell to her lap. She then flicked her bangs over her face and averted her head in the other direction.

"Oh…I'm sorry I didn't mean-

Retsu raised a hand to silence him, then looked up to the ceiling; hair still covering her eyes.

"It's all right. it's just that…I haven't talked about them in years…Brings back a lot of memories I'd rather not remember." She brushed the hair out of her face and allowed a sad smile to appear on her face.

"I understand…" he reached over and took her hand in his, squeezing it gently to give her some sort of comfort. He could have sworn he felt heat rise to his cheeks when he felt her fingers wrap around his.

"Thank you…" She gave him a friendly smile, all traces of sorrow gone now.

But before he could even speak, loud barks filled both their ears. Her head immediately perked up and her eyes had a dangerous look in them now.

"What's wrong?" She let go of his hand and stood up, sniffing the air. The barking suddenly got louder and began to sound more violent; The masks on the walls began to shake slightly, along with the book shelf.

"Retsu!"

Retsu turned around to find Kat panting and a frightened look in her eyes.

"Something's coming!" Without answering, Retsu leaped over the bed and leaned out the big window. The once calm Wolfos were now at one side of the fence bearing their fangs and barking like mad dogs. She dug on the inside of her robe and pulled out a black telescope and looked out in the distant.

"SHIT! It's the Bulblin gang!" She put her scope aside and put a finger to her forehead deep in thought.

"Are you serious!? What are we going to do?"

"Let me handle them, it's…the least I can do." Byrne kicked the covers off of him and tried to get up, until Kat ran over to him and tried to get him to lay back down.

"Are you insane, you can't fight in this condition!"

"But those things will come and hurt you both, I can't let that happen!" Byrne tried to push her away, but failed.

"Kat, get my spear." The pair stopped what they were doing and turned their attention toward Retsu.

"Your spear sis?" Kat's eyes began to fill with worry.

"Don't give me that look; I've handled these guys many times before. There no match for my power." She reassured her and gave her a smirk.

"Yeah, your right! What else do you need?" Kat ran over to the door.

"A bottle of our most flammable oil and… My Keaton mask.

"Okay, who do you want to take this time?"

"Bring out Snow, and do it quickly!"

"Right!" Kat ran out of the room as quickly as possible.

"You shouldn't go alone! What if something happens?" Byrne demanded and was now sitting on the bed side.

"Nothing will happen, I promised Kat I'd take care of this problem and im going to do it myself; no questions asked." She pulled her silk belt tighter around her waist and began to head for the exit.

"At least let me come outside, just in case anything happens." Byrne begged now, and Retsu sighed a little annoyed, but complied. Without hesitation, she lifted Byrne onto her shoulders like the day she found him and made a dash down the hall outside of the room.

"_Boy is he about to be surprised."_

* * *

Kat handed Retsu her Keaton mask, which she quickly slipped on, then turned to gaze at Byrne. She had sat him down on one of their front porch chairs, which he was comfortable sitting in now, before she got ready.

"Make sure he doesn't do anything stupid." She attached a small gourd of oil to her shorts and grabbed her spear from Kat's hands.

"I promise, don't worry."

Retsu nodded then put two fingers in her mouth and blew; creating an ear pounding whistle. There was a loud bark, and then within seconds a rather big Wolfo jumped out of nowhere and landed in front of her. She quickly jumped on its back with ease and began to stroke one of its ears with her free hand, causing the wolf to lean its and let out an appreciative growl.

She looked in the distance, noticing the Bulblins came to a halt about half a mile away from the house. Apparently they looked like they were waiting, which sort surprised her. They usually would charge head on without thinking and would launch whatever bombs they had; maybe they had gotten a little smarter after their past attacks. She raised her spear in their direction and gripped the wolf's fur with her free hand; the wolf barked again, and then began to sprint the way she pointed.

* * *

"You ride the Wolfos?" He had seen people ride on horses in the past, but never dogs; especially wolves.

"Years of love, trust, and training pays off. She's trained the Wolfos to do many things, and letting people ride on their backs was the toughest and required a lot of patience. Plus as years go by they get bigger and bigger, so they're the perfect type of transportation for crossing mountains and places you wouldn't use trains."

"Wolf riding huh?" He looked over to fenced area where all the snow dogs were locked up.

"_I wonder if I'll be able to try it before I leave." _He turned his attention back to where the Retsu and her loyal stead had ran off; they were still visible to the eye, but only slightly.

"_This should be very interesting."_

…**End of Chapter…**

**Whew, this took me a while to write but it's finally done. Byrne's getting cozy with the lady's; I wonder what will happen in the future chapters? xD I hope you all enjoyed this chapter; the next one will be a little violent. YAY VIOLENCE!!!!! x3**

**REVIEW PLZ!!!!!**


	3. First step out of the shadows

**Wow, I wasn't thinking I'd get this up anytime soon. Sorry If I took so long! Like I've said before, a lot of testing lately other things to work on. Plus Chapter 3 of "Your Mine" is taking some time to finish as well. Anyway, hope everyone enjoys this chap, because I had a lot of fun writing it. LONEWOLVES FOR LIFE BABY!!! WOOOOOO!!!**

Retsu jumped off of Snow, her feet coming in contact with the ground hard with her spear as she glared at her opponents through her mask. Ten Bulblin riders stood in a row a good distance away from her. Pairs of glowing red eyes stared as eight of the ten readied their weapons for an attack, while the giant bulbos they sat on let out aggravated snorts and let their hove's brush backward, ready to charge forward at any moment. The other two that didn't bother to remove anything jumped off their bulbos and began to walk toward Retsu. Out of the ten, they were the biggest and tallest, one had a giant club on its back while the other carried a small bag over its shoulder; they were most likely the leaders of the group.

"I hope you rotten pests have a very good excuse for trespassing on my land."

The pair stopped just a few feet away from her and smirked.

"You know exactly why we've come here demon." The first Bulblin spoke while removing the club from its back and pointed it at her.

"Oh? You might have to remind me, I'm kind of slow today." She stuck her spear in the ground and crossed her arms against her chest.

"We want the wolves!" The club that was pointed at her moved to Snow, who had his fangs bared and a deadly look in his gold eyes.

"Why would you need my wolves? You can always go find some wild ones around the snow sanctuary."

"Exactly, they're wild. We hear yours will do anything their master tells them to do."

"Why exactly do you want them?" Retsu tilted her head to the side in question.

"Wolves are faster and stronger then Bulbos. Every time we try to ambush a train, they get away because pig tire out. But with your wolves, we'll catch every train, put every village in fear when wolves attack them, and soon we'll rule all hyrule land!" He laughed and motioned for his companions to join him. They gave each other nervous looks and began to let out dry pathetic laughs.

"And what if they won't obey you? Then what will you do?" She questioned calmly and let her arms and head lower down.

"We force them to. We'll beat them and whip them until they obey." He grinned and let the end of his club fall in his free hand. Unknowingly to him, the air around them got colder and the nails on Retsu's fingers slowly began to grow into claws; causing the Bulblins in the back to gulp and tremble a little.

"And?" Retsu growled lowly and clenched her hands into fists.

"We use these." The other Bulblin removed the bag from its shoulder. Opening it, he removed handmade muzzles and steel dog chains. Retsu took a menacing step forward.

"Now, you WILL give us-AHHHHH!!!!!

Before he could even finish his sentence, sharp claws sliced through his neck, tearing his throat right off. Blood sprayed all over her, mask, robe, shorts and ground alike as his motionless body fell to the ground dead. His companion with the bag screamed and made a mad dash to the others in utter fear, but was stopped when a clawed hand suddenly burst out of the front of his chest. He felt blood seep past his lips as his body was slowly lifted off the ground and he coughed out his last bit of air.

"May you burn in hell…" The hand was removed with a loud crunch of bone and the body fell to the ground beside the other. Retsu removed her mask and tossed it to the ground, then turned her attention to the remaining eight. They were all trembling, weapons still in hand, as they allowed their Bulbos to slowly back away in fear. She inhaled deeply as she pushed her feet and arms back and then let out a ground shaking roar that could most likely be heard for miles.

The bulbos let out terrified squeals and stood on their two back feet, causing their riders to fall on their backs to the ground, and took off in a midst of terror with their tails between their legs. Retsu licked her lips, and then turned when she felt something brush her arm. Snow pushed his head against her arm; her spear sitting in his mouth like a stick waiting to be taken.

She carefully removed it and gave his ear a playful tug, earning her another appreciative growl. Both then turned their attention toward the remaining opponents.

"I just hope they're more of a challenge." She grinned and he barked in agreement as both charged at them.

**Meanwhile…**

"H-how…She…?" Byrne was beyond speechless as he lowered the telescope Kat had given him away from his eye. He felt a chill go down his spine after witnessing that little show she had gave them. How could a girl as young and sweet as her be capable of doing something so gruesome? And with just one punch! Was she even human? Thoughts continued to run through his head until a quiet voice broke him away from them.

"This is why she didn't want you to come out." Kat was on the ground next to him with her knees to her chest. After Retsu left, he became even more worried after she had told him she would be alright multiple times. But all that changed when she gave him her telescope and told him to see for himself; he let out nothing but gasps and loud gulps then.

"I don't understand."

"She didn't want you to see what she's capable of doing. You can say…She becomes a totally different person when fighting and doesn't like it when others watch her."

"Why?"

"…"

Byrne looked down at her waiting for an answer, but got nothing but silence instead. He then looked forward again and lifted the telescope for him to see through again. Retsu and Snow were dodging the Bulblins bombs with ease as they circled them, preparing to launch their own attack as they got closer and closer.

"You should ask her later…Since you seem to think about her so much." Kat tried her best not to snicker while Byrne immediately blushed and dropped the scope in surprise.

"I do not! I was just worried that she might get hurt or something, and don't act like you weren't worried either because I know you were too!" Byrne all but shouted now causing Kat to cover her ears with her hands and fall on her back; laughing hard.

"Delusional as well as in denial!"

"W-what?" He asked shocked now.

"And deaf too!"

"You…you…" he stuttered as he tried to find the right words to say, until another extremely loud inhuman roar and spine chilling screams filled their ears; the ground began to shake with a frightening force, then suddenly came to a halt. Both quickly focused their attention back to the fields and jumped to their feet. Kat took a step forward unsure what to do, until she was suddenly pushed out of the way by Byrne, who began to jog to out towards the plains; gripping his side as he went.

"Byrne! What the hell are you doing!?" Kat quickly chased after him in both panic and surprise.

**X0x0x0x0x0x0x0x**

Retsu coughed hard as she collapsed to the ground on her knees. She squeezed her eyes shut as she tried to get her breathing back to normal; while her bloody claws slowly began to form into regular finger nails again. She covered her mouth for a sec, and then allowed herself to spit out a wad blood.

"_Damnit…I can't believe I lost control again…" _

Bodies and weapons were scattered everywhere, along with a few fissures that had opened themselves out of the earth after some of stunts she pulled with Snow. Snow was panting beside her, his muzzle and paws were soaked with blood, which he tried his best to lick off. She let out a small chuckle and ran a bloody hand through his back fur, causing him to drop his head and happily lick her cheek.

"No one will ever take you guys away from me, I give you my word." She continued to pet him until he let a small huff and walked away. He stopped at one of the big Bulblin's and dug his face in a pant pocket, and pulled out what looked like a small Rupee bag. Retsu sighed and quickly stood up as he walked back over to her and presented the bag up to her proudly. She took it and smiled softly.

"I'm sure Kat is going to be very happy. A pest problem and a month's worth of pay taken care of all in one day huh?" He barked and then ran for her spear, which was stuck in a dead Bulblin's back. She quickly put her mask on the side of her head and put the bag away within her robe, then got on his back. She turned him around and began to lead them home, only to have him stop in his tracks when voices of two familiar people began to call out for her.

"Retsu!" Both Byrne and Kat were running toward her in a mad rush, causing her to grunt and look away from them; she clearly was not very happy to see them, especially the way she looked right now.

Byrne and Kat stopped once they reached her, leaning over and panting hard as they tried to catch their breaths. Retsu jumped off of Snow and simply glared at them.

"I thought I told you two to stay out of this. Especially you Kat, you were supposed to keep an eye on him." She pointed to Byrne who gave her a weird look at the tone of her voice.

"He's the one who ran off sis! I tried to catch him but he was too fast for me." Kat replied and pointed to Byrne, who was now scratching the back of his head a little embarrassed.

"I-I'm sorry, I know you told me to stay away but I couldn't help it. There was an earthquake, and then screams…You're all bloody, you're not hurt are you?" He walked up to her and tried to grab one of her arms until Retsu pushed him aside and dug through her robe; tossing the Rupee bag to Kat.

"That should be enough to buy food for the next few weeks."

"Um okay…They won't bother us anymore will they?" Retsu shrugged her shoulders and motioned for Snow to come.

"Yeah, they won't be a problem anymore. I promised you didn't I?" Kat jumped at the news and laughed when Snow jumped on her.

"Do me a favor and take Snow home…I'm going to go clean myself off in the ocean." She sighed and took off without another word. Byrne opened his mouth to protest but stopped, knowing she wasn't going to listen to him anyway.

"Come on, let's go home." She got on top of Snow and offered Byrne a hand, which he pushed away and began to walk ahead of her.

"The shore is near your house correct?"

"Don't tell me you plan on-"

"What if I do? I have to talk to her; there is much I want to know."

"She's not in a good mood right now and trust me; I can't even get her to talk to me half the time."

"I have my ways." He groaned in pain and dropped on a knee for a sec, running half a mile was finally taking a toll on his broken ribs.

"You should be resting; she'll come home later tonight. You must really want to watch her bathe huh?" Kat grinned and had Snow walk next to him.

"I WOULD DO NO SUCH THING! Why do you imply such foolish rubbish?" He jumped to his feet in a heartbeat. Yes, he knew he should have been resting right now but sleep was the last thing on his mind. He had to find out how the girl received such power.

"Calm down, god you're no fun at all. And since you're not going to listen take this. You should be able to walk faster with it" She handed him Retsu's spear.

"She won't mind if I borrow it?"

"That's for you to find out buddy, see you later!"

Byrne watched as the two took off toward the house, leaving him alone to walk. And for some reason she was right, he walked a lot faster with the weapon. He smiled and despite the pain, let his legs carry him in a light run.

"_I'm feeling better already"_

**X0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x**

"Still smells like blood…" Retsu sighed after sniffing her hand and dived in the blue salty water again. She had always preferred to clean herself off in the ocean rather than shower up like Kat did. She didn't know why, besides the fact that the salt water would usually get rid of the stench of dog and blood faster than regular soap and water. She already knew it wasn't healthy for her skin and what not because Kat would tell her time after time not to do so but right now, she didn't really care.

She rose from the water again and pushed her wet hair back. Everything but her shorts were laid out on the sand. No one ever came around these parts of Hyrule so she didn't have to worry about anybody that might pass by and see her.

She sighed under the water, feeling somewhat guilty now. She knew Kat was happy about her deed, but knew deep down she was hurt for not opening up to her at times like this. She didn't know why really; out of all the people she knew, Kat was the only one she fully trusted... And the fact she had been rather rude to their guest. Yes, he was annoying and very stubborn, but she knew under all that he meant well; she would definitely have to apologize to him later when she got the chance. Retsu clenched her head with her hands as unwanted memories began fill her head.

"_You stupid girl, it's your fault we lost everything!"_

"_Why would I waste my time training someone like you?"_

"_YOU ROTTEN BEAST!"_

"_Never come back…You might as well kill yourself."_

"_Please, have mercy!_

"_Stay away from her, she's a monster! She'll kill us all!"_

"_I'm not a monster!_

"_Don't let her near you!"_

Retsu released her head and looked down at her hands; her nails were slowly growing into claws again like before, her canines were also starting to grow slightly. She shut her eyes and took slow deep breaths; meditation and remaining calm would always fight it away. When they returned to normal, she squeezed the water out of her hair and looked to the sky.

"_Why…?"_She wrapped her arms around herself as single tear slide down her cheek.

**X0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0**

"_She said they lived near the Aboda village. This is the ocean, but I don't see anything."_Byrne looked around as he walked along the shore. While walking he noticed that train tracks were nowhere to be seen, and strangest of all no villages; just plains, ocean, and large rocky hills that were located miles away behind the girl's home and wolfo ranch, nothing else. Were they even in the land of Hyrule? He was beyond confused and felt lost already.

"I guess I better ask where I really am if I'm ever going to get out of here." He wiped some sweat from his forehead and looked to the sky, the sun was starting to set and the air was becoming somewhat colder. Then suddenly, loud splashing filled his ears. He continued his walk until he came upon bloody clothing which lay out on the sand, and then stared out into the distance when a head emerged from the water.

"Might as well wait." He dropped the spear in the sand next to the clothing and sat himself down; spreading his legs out against the sand as he watched her. He knew he had yelled at Kat saying he wasn't going to watch her, but he really couldn't help. Anything could easily pop up out of nowhere and attack her. Besides the woods, the ocean wasn't the safest place to be alone in either. He didn't know why he was trying to protect her when she could clearly take care of herself. She saved his life and gave him a place to stay; nobody had ever done that for him besides Anjean…So now he was going to try and protect her, once he healed of course.

"Why are you out here, I thought I told you to go home!" There was a shout, causing him to break away from his personal thoughts and look to the water again. She was in the shallow water not too far from him; her back was turned to him and he quickly covered his eyes with a hand.

"I'm sorry! But I wanted to talk to you alone for a moment."

"While I'm trying to bathe?" She laughed and splashed some water on her shoulders.

"My eyes are closed; I assure you I'm no pervert…" He stated calmly.

"If it's about the battle its nothing you should concern yourself with. They're all dead and I'm not hurt, so please stop worrying about me."

"It's not the battle, it's just…That power."

Retsu froze and turned her head to stare at him.

"You…Saw me?"

"I saw everything."

"I'm…I'm so sorry…If I scared you in any way I-"

"Are you kidding!? You were amazing! I don't think I've ever seen anyone do what you can do. How in hyrule were you able to do that?" Byrne exclaimed trying his best to keep his hand over his eyes.

Retsu gave him a look of both confusion and surprise. He thought her power was amazing? No one besides her old friends that were long gone and Kat were the only ones to ever support her when it came to her dark power, but a complete stranger? She couldn't help but let a small smile form on her lips as she walked out of the water; the stench of blood was finally gone.

"I don't think so…It's more of a nuisance then amazing as you put it." She shook herself off and grabbed a black tank-top that was hidden underneath her robe and slipped it on, not really caring if she got it wet.

"Why would you say that? I'd do anything for power like that."

"You have no idea what it's like…You can open your eyes now." She took a seat beside him and brought her knees to her chest to avoid getting sand all over them.

"I want to know, can you teach me?"

"Huh?" They both looked at each other at the same time.

"Take me in as your apprentice. I want to be able to control power like yours; I want to ride Wolfos like you do, your ways…Please, I want to you to teach me everything." He gave her sincere look and took both her hands in his. Retsu on the other hand didn't look to happy.

"Is that all you can think about is power? Is this what all this is about? IS THAT ALL YOUR AFTER!?" she pulled her hands away from his and stood very furious.

"N-no, I-"Retsu kicked him in the face before he could even finish his sentence, sending him a few feet away in the sand.

"You're just another disgusting greedy worm. You have no clue what I have to go through every single day just to control this curse! Why would I ever teach you my ways?" Byrne gripped his face as he sat up, afraid of what was going to happen next.

"I don't understand…"

"People like you have come and begged me to teach them everything I knew, and I was foolish enough to do it at the time; and do you know what happened after they got what they wanted?"

Byrne didn't even move as she continued to shout at him.

"THEY BECAME SO POWER OBSESSED THEY THOUGHT THEY COULD GET AWAY WITH ANYTHING! THEY KILLED THOUSANDS OF INNOCENT PEOPLE, DESTRYOED VILLAGE AFTER VILLAGE AND MADE ME LOOK LIKE AN ENEMY TO THE GODS AND EVERYONE ELSE!!!!!!" She was shouting so loud now he couldn't help but wince.

"Tell me why…" A low voice this time.

"Why what?" Retsu slapped him hard.

"WHY ARE YOU IN NEED OF SUCH POWER? Tell me exactly why you want power like mine so much, and if you lie, ooooh if you lie or give me a fucking stupid answer, I'm going to peel the flesh off your bones and feed you to the dogs." She took a menacing step forward as she waited for her answer. Byrne gulped, too scared to move. She was by far the most frightening person he had ever seen, he wouldn't be surprised if Malladus cowered in terror at the sound of her voice.

"I'm waiting you filth…" She took another step toward him.

"Wrong…"

"What?"

"I…Wanted to be stronger then the spirits of this world…" Retsu felt her fangs and claws beginning to grow out, but used every drop of her will power to keep her rage under control.

"Why you selfish piece of-

"But…Then I knew it was wrong…I was always looked down upon by others, did what everyone told me to do and yet…I was still never fully accepted by those around me. So I did everything in my path to become stronger and prove the others that I wasn't weak…Wasn't worthless…" Byrne sighed and looked at his hands as if disgusted with himself, while Retsu remained completely silent.

"But as the years went by my patience grew thin and I grew tired of waiting to get stronger, so I…Sided with the wrong crowd you might say, to get what I wanted. It wasn't so bad…they gave me the encouragement and power I had so desperately wanted, the attention…Even though they were evil, it was better than not being accepted and tormented everyday for years." Retsu's eyes softened and her head began to fill of the memories from before.

"_This man…"_

"But then I knew I made a mistake…I wanted to be more powerful then the spirits and make them pay for my struggles…But knew that would get my nowhere. I didn't want to hurt anyone, but in the end I did and I regret everything…I lost my old home…I lost my only friend…I lost everything..." Byrne shut his eyes and let his own painful memories replay in his head like a broken record.

"You're wrong…You didn't lose everything…" Byrne looked up to find her hovering over him now.

"I have nothing left…I have no purpose therefore I am-"Before he could even finish, Retsu kneeled in front of him and wrapped her arms around his head, pulling it to her chest."

"Everyone has a purpose…I lost everything too once, yet here I am."

"…"

"From this day forward you'll be my apprentice…And my new friend." Byrne's eyes widened and she rested her chin on top of his head; tightening her hold on him as she smiled.

"You won't be alone anymore…You can stay here as long as you like."

A single tear slid down Byrne's cheek as he buried his face deeper in her chest and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her as close to him as possible. So, this was what it was like to be hugged by someone.

"I'm so sorry…I'll never hurt you again."

More tears leaked from his eyes, and he soon found himself breaking down into her arms. Retsu unknowingly let her lips brush against the top of his head as she whispered comforting words to him. His tears began soak through her shirt, but she didn't mind.

They were more alike than they thought…

**End of chapter…**

**Man, this took me forever. These two sure are getting close, I wonder what Anjean would have to say to this. xD Anyway, I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter and if you didn't I suggest you leave now or ill feed you to my dogs :) I'm out yo, big chemistry test tomorrow and I need to sleep.**

**REVIEW PLEASE!!!!**


	4. The other way around

**Final fantasy XIII is the shit! I'm trying to make a decision whether or not to continue this story…No one really seems to play Zelda anymore anyway…Na, I'm just kidding. I promised I'd write my buddies a story and I plan to finish it, even if it takes forever.**

"There you guys are. What took you so long?" Kat turned away from a stove to set two plates of food on a round wooden table as Byrne and Retsu walked through the front door.

"Sorry about that sis, but dead bodies aren't going to burn themselves you know." Retsu grinned and tossed her the gourd from before, then led Byrne to sit at the kitchen table; he remained silent the whole time.

"That's true…Well I hope you guys are hungry, because I worked very hard preparing this meal." Byrne bowed his head and simply stared at the food, not even bothering to pick up any of the utensils to dig in. Kat gave him a strange look then pulled Retsu to the side away from the table.

"What did you do to him? He looks really depressed; did he try to spy on you?" She asked in a low voice.

"We had a long talk about things…It's just been a long day for him, he'll be back to normal after a bath and a good night's sleep." Retsu reassured her and smiled.

"I hope your right…What about you?"

"I'm fine…His company was just what I needed. I'm sorry for my rude behavior…I just don't want you to see me when I'm like that…" She looked away to hide her pained gaze.

"I understand, but you know you can talk to me about anything right? You can trust me; I'll always be here for you." Kat gave her a big hug, which Retsu returned.

"Thank you…Hey, I know you've been working all day but can you wash these for me? If you do, I'll take care of all the chores tomorrow and your dogs." She gave her a pleading look, causing Kat to sigh.

"You drive a hard bargain, blood stains take forever to get out of clothes…But okay! I could use a day off anyway."

"Thanks, I'll leave them outside my door when I head to my room for the night." She laughed. They both made their way to the table. Retsu rested a hand on Byrne's shoulder, causing him to look rather quickly.

"If you want you can eat in your room, I know how much you like your privacy and since you've got no shirt on." Byrne smiled under his mask and nodded. He grabbed his plate and got up; wincing as he stood, causing Retsu to sigh and take the plate from his good hand gently.

"Kat, can you take his plate to his room?"

"Sure thing sis." Retsu handed her the plate, then put his arm over her shoulder.

"No, I'm fine really. You've done enough for me today." She ignored his protests and began to lead him down a hall right across between a small living room and the kitchen.

"No you're not. And if anyone has done enough today it's you. You've been running around with a broken arm and ribs all day, that's more than enough." He sighed, but nodded his head in agreement. It had been a long day, for both of them. There was much for them to still talk about but knew it could wait until tomorrow, he wouldn't be leaving anytime soon and neither would she.

When they got to his room, she sat him down on the edge of the bed while Kat set up his meal on the night stand.

"My room is a door down from yours and Kat's is right across; the washroom is all the way at the end of the hall. When you're finished eating I'll have a nice bath ready for you, I already have clothes prepared so knock on my door whenever you're ready. She put a blanket over his shoulders and gave him a wink; He simply nodded and took the plate in his lap.

"Thank you very much; I really…Appreciate everything you've done for me…"

"Anytime, a sweet guy like you deserves much." Kat laughed and walked out of the room, heading back toward the kitchen. Retsu followed after her, gripping the door knob as she turned to face him once more.

"…"

"Just knock on my door when you're finished, Kat will take your plate when you're done okay?" Byrne pulled his mask down as the door closed with a soft "click." He gripped his fork and merely poked at the food. He was hungry yes, but just didn't feel like eating. Thoughts from the past few hours still ran through his head and they made him sick to his stomach somehow, but also surprised him in many ways he didn't know how to feel.

First he betrayed those who trusted him, then was betrayed and nearly killed by those he trusted, and then saved by a woman who nearly beat the shit out him after; not that he didn't deserve it. He blamed the spirits for all this, his wounds, his bad luck, everything! If he ever got the chance in the future, he promised he'd tear them all limb from limb…Or maybe even pray to them in thanks. Despite everything that happened, he somehow felt a lot better and not as angry as he did before.

After crying for the first time in his life, he felt a lot better; and in the arms of the most frightening woman he had ever met in his life…It felt simply amazing. Was this really what he was missing out in all those years of training? He always believed emotions made one weak and love was a waste of time; since it was really a nuisance and they would get in the way of your goals. That's why he pushed all the other lokomos away and accepted help from no one, besides Anjean occasionally with certain matters. But now, he was beginning to regret not sharing or expressing it all those years, until today that is. He began to regret a lot of things now...

"_No wonder the spirits didn't give me the power I wanted…I'm such a fool."_

He chuckled and took a bite of his food, which was extremely good; He would have to give Kat his compliments on her cooking when he got the chance; she was probably the sweetest woman he had ever met in all of hyrule. Then a thought hit him that really caused him to laugh. How was it that someone so sweet could live with someone so scary? It was funny and ironic actually, the girl's relationship was almost like his and Anjean's. Anjean was sweet and also had a playful side, which did annoy him from time to time due to the pranks her and Embrose would play on him when he was studying or training; while he on the other hand had other things in mind. Others would always comment him on his hostility and harsh words towards others, besides Anjean. She would simply ignore it and call him a monkey or some other foolish name, then defend his image by telling the other lokomos under all that hardness he was a real softy or he was just under the weather because he couldn't get a girlfriend…Which caused them to make even more comments about him; another reason why he worked alone.

He finished his food and set the plate aside. He knew Kat wouldn't be a problem for him but Retsu on the other hand, he didn't know what to expect from her. He was very grateful that she had saved him and offered him a home…Then made him her new student and friend. Besides their new friendship, he couldn't wait until they started his training or whatever she had in store for him, all that mattered that he was finally going to get the power he had deserved…Then maybe start a new life from there as time went by.

There was something that bugged him though. Their conversation that they had…Something she had said that he'd didn't quite fully understand.

"_You have no clue what I have to go through every single day just to control this curse!"_

"_Curse…?"_

"What did she mean by curse?" He really didn't get it. How could power like that be a curse? It was more of a blessing/miracle and he would have more than willingly loved to take her place if that option were ever possible. Unless…There was something he was missing, and he was dying to find out what it was. He was sure it had something to do with her not talking to Kat as well.

"_She's hiding something, and she doesn't want others to know that's for sure…"_He smirked in amusement as he rewrapped his face with his bandana. She had forced him to come clean about things he didn't want bring up due to certain matters…So now it was his turn to get some answers, and he would stop at nothing to get them. After all, even if she was scary or not…

He always got what he wanted…

**Meanwhile…**

"So how long is he going to be staying with us?" Kat asked before taking a sip of her tea.

"He has no home to go to…I told him he could stay here as long as he wanted."

"B-but a complete stranger? He's sweet and all but how do we know he isn't just someone trying to take the Wolfos?"

"I highly doubt that. You forget I found him half dead in the woods; He means us no harm." Retsu shoved a spoon full of food in her mouth.

"That's true…So, what's his story? Because I've never seen him around hyrule that's for sure."

"That I'm not so sure myself, all I know is that he's…" Retsu hesitated and smiled.

"He's what? What did he do?"

"_That he's not human…"_

"Nothing…I like him; He has to stay anyway. I'm sure you won't mind seeing that you two get along so well." Retsu got up from her chair with her dishes.

"Since when have you ever been interested in guys Retsu?" Kat snickered and handed her plate to Retsu before she made her way to the kitchen sink.

"No not like that; Things are just going to get really interesting around here." Retsu replied and quickly began to clean the dishes off.

"Why do you say that? Unless you got things planned for him." Kat took another sip of her drink.

"He's going to be my new apprentice." Kat immediately spat out her tea and gave her a shocked look.

"Are you serious!?"

"My mind's made up sister. Besides, it's been years since I've taken a step out of the shadows and done something with my life." Retsu put the dishes aside, then turned around and leaned against the counter.

"But what about everything that's happened!? How do know that he isn't just another power hungry bastard trying to take over hyrule or something?" Kat slammed her fists to the table, trying her best to keep her voice down.

"I'm going to test him tomorrow…It will determine if he's worthy or not to be one of us." Retsu crossed her arms over her chest.

"And if he fails? What if he ends up just tricking you in the end?"

"That's why I'm going to test him. If he can't keep up with me and depends too much on anger and hate to get what I expect from him done, then he isn't worth my time. But, that doesn't mean I won't give him a chance or kick him out. He doesn't smell threatening and hasn't done anything suspicious, so I'm not worried." They both gave each other serious stares, until Kat rested her chin against the palm of her hand and sighed.

"He's gonna go through hell either way."

"I have faith in him…He's stubborn and unusual yes, but there's something about him that makes me feel…Happy."

"Awww, sounds like someone's in love!" Kat laughed while Retsu merely rolled her eyes.

"You wish. Speaking of love, how's "HE" doing? You haven't talked about him much in the past few days; you guys get in a fight?" Retsu grinned.

"No, it's just same old same old really…Maybe I'll go pay him a visit tomorrow, He could use a day off too."

"As if selling instruments and giving people music lessons is a lot of work." Kat gave her the finger and Retsu merely laughed.

"It was a joke sis, relax. Now you can't tell me I can't take a joke. I'm sure he'd love that, have him take you to lunch or something; I'm going to be here all day tomorrow so you can do whatever you wish."

"Sounds great, do you want me to bring you anything back from town?" Retsu thought to herself for a moment.

"Well I promised Byrne I'd fix his gauntlet, can you find some polish and small screwdrivers for me? I have everything else."

"I'll remember that." Retsu's ears perked as the sound of a door opening sounded through the kitchen.

"Retsu? I'm finished and ready whenever you are." Came Byrne's voice.

"Be there in a sec!"

"Bath time fun huh? Wow sis, you really are a pervert." Kat teased, which earned her a dagger to the hand that barely missed her fingers.

"What the fuck Retsu!?" Kat pulled the dagger out of the table and launched it at her, which she caught without even looking.

"Next time I won't miss." She smirked and headed down the hall, leaving the fuming hazel eyed girl to her shouting.

**Xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox**

"Let me get your clothes." Retsu dug her hand in her pocket and removed a small key. She quickly unlocked the door to her room and entered, shutting it behind her before Byrne even had a chance to take a peek inside. When she came out seconds later, a small bag was under her arm and he gave her a curious look.

"Sorry, my room's a big mess right now; I'll let you in next time." She smiled and went to open the bathroom door at the end of the hall. It was small, but big enough for at least two people and pretty clean. She handed Byrne the bag and went to start the tub. Without hesitating he slowly opened it and began to pull out its contents. There was a pair of black pajama pants, gray boxers, and a forest green robe that had black paw print imprints on the back, which looked big enough for him.

"Those should be comfortable enough for someone your size, I hope you like them." Once she figured the water was a decent temperature, she turned to face him.

"Yes these will be fine, thank you." He slowly set them down onto of the sink.

All right, just turn the knob when you think the tub is full enough. Soap and other things you'll need are on the edge so you can easily reach them, and you'll find towels under that brown cabinet by the toilet." She quickly pointed everything out and he nodded as she explained.

"Well I'm off to bed, just leave your dirty clothes outside your door, and if you need anything just give us a knock."

"I will, and Retsu?"

"Hm?"

"When will you start training me?"

"The day after tomorrow. You're going to need all the rest you can get, trust me. Plus, I'll give you a tour around the land so you won't feel so lost anymore." Retsu grinned and took her leave, until Byrne gripped her shoulder gently.

"What about my wounds? Will they heal in time?"

She gently removed his hand and gave him a sincere smile.

"You have nothing to fear." He couldn't help but raise a brow at the way she spoke her sentence. What exactly was that supposed to mean? After she closed the door, he quickly stripped of his pants, bandana, and the bandages around his chest, and then slowly sank into the soothing hot water. He couldn't help but let out a low moan as all the soreness in his body began to fade away after moments of soaking. He pulled the tie out of his hair, allowing it to flow over his back; then dunked his entire body under the water. It had been a while since he had done something so relaxing, so why not enjoy it?

After a good soak and scrubbing, he changed into his clothes and made his way to his room as quietly as possible, until Kat suddenly came out of his room.

"I changed your sheets for you; you should sleep a lot better now." She took the dirty clothes from his arms and bowed her head.

"Thank you. Oh yes, and thank you for the meal. Probably the best thing I've ever eaten."

"No problem, if you want me or Retsu to make any specific dishes for you, let us know. Retsu is a good cook as well."

"Alright I will goodnight."

"Night" He shut his door and immediately jumped on his bed like an excited child, but winced as soon as he landed on his ribs, causing him to groan and laugh in pain.

"So much for feeling completely better…" He removed his robe and slipped under the covers. The cuts on his chest were still visible, and the gash on his arm was still pretty swollen; not to mention a large bruise was beginning to form under his chin from Retsu's kick to the face. But either way, it wasn't so bad. He yawned while pulling his bandana aside and set it on the nightstand. He didn't want to go to sleep just yet, but the warmth of the bed and exhaustion his body held was too much to resist, He shut his eyes and let out a soft sigh, now he could really rest…

**xoxoxoxoxoxoxox**

His door opened slowly and quietly. An unknown figure entered and slowly walked up to the bed, light footsteps echoing throughout the room, but not loud enough to awaken the sleeping lokomo; who was breathing hard and struggling under the covers. A hand reached out and brushed some dark locks away that hid his face. Beads of sweat were running down his face as his eyes scrunched together in pain. He was most likely having a bad dream of some sort. The hand went down slowly and carefully pulled the covers off his body.

The hand pulled back and within seconds, was enveloped in a blue flame; then gently pushed down on his naked chest, causing him to release a pained gasp as his whole body became enveloped in blue fire.

"_You have nothing to fear…"_

**Xoxoxoxooxxoxoxoxoxo**

_He was surrounded by darkness…Cold arms held him down as weapons of every kind stabbed him. He tried to move, push them away, but couldn't move a muscle. Sounds of cruel laughter filled his ears as he begged for them to stop. Until suddenly, a bright light blinded him, causing him to shut his eyes. The coldness disappeared and the pain began to fade, only to be replaced by wonderful warmth. When he opened his eyes, the darkness was replaced with a light blue sky and warm sunlight; he lay in a bed of those beautiful golden flowers alone._

_Smiling, he stood and walked through them; bending over to inhale their sweet scent every once in a while._

"_Ho ho ho, so you've come Staven?" A familiar voice called out. Byrne jumped and looked from side to side._

"_Anjean…?"_

"_It's good to see you again." Byrne turned around to find her; back turned his direction as she stared into the distance._

"_Anjean!" He quickly ran over to her, but stopped when he was less than a few feet away._

"_So, why did you come?" Byrne hesitated and turned around._

"_I think…I want to be forgiven, more than anything." He shook his head sure of himself._

"_By who?" Byrne turned to face her once more, but she was gone. The darkness returned and his body burned in pain…_

"_Retsu! Kat!"_

Byrne's eyes shot open, he pushed himself up and looked around the room.

"Just a dream." He sighed and pushed some hair out of his face, then gasped suddenly. The gash on his arm was gone and was no longer broken. Removing the blanket from his body, he found all the cuts on his chest gone and healed as well. He jumped to his feet and punched himself in the side; there was no pain.

"_But how?"_He looked out the window; it was near dawn, too early to wake the girls and get some answers in his book. Laughing now, he threw a few practice punches and kicks. It was awesome being able to move again, now he wouldn't be such nuisance and need constant help from the girls to get around everywhere; and the best part of all, He could protect Retsu and she couldn't do anything to stop him.

"_After I show her what I can do, I'm sure she won't hesitate to let me protect and help her!"_ He stopped moving for a sec, somehow confused at his own thoughts now.

"_Why…Do I want to protect her?"_ He had been pondering over this since yesterday. He knew she was fully capable of taking care of herself and other things, but his want to protect her was starting to sound more and more like a mutual need…A desire. Or it could have just been instinct for a man to protect a woman, but he highly doubted that.

"_Ugh, I take having emotions as a wonderful thing back. This is starting to give me a big headache."_ He sighed and ran his hands through his hair irritably; He really didn't know what to do. Sounds of loud barking filled the room suddenly causing him to quickly make his way to the window again, was it an ambush or attack again?

He calmed down immediately at the sight below; the Wolfos were slowly making their way out of the stable and began making a mad sprint into the distance as if saying 'Beloved freedom!' He smiled and leaned against the windowsill when he spotted Retsu shutting the stable door after all the dogs ran out.

"_I wasn't thinking she'd be up this early…"_ He chuckled as a wolfo came up behind and tackled her to the ground. He heard her laugh then wrestle it in the dirt until she got up and made a run for it. First one wolfo, then two, then the whole pack began to chase after her; barking in excitement as she out ran them all to the end out the fence, which was at least a mile away, then leaped onto one of the long poles that held the fence together.

"She's fast." He rubbed his hands over his arms when a rather cool breeze hit his exposed flesh. When he reached for the robe Retsu had gave him, he noticed that the clothes that he usual wore were folded neatly on the nightstand along with a few pieces fruit and a cup of water.

"Perfect." He quickly changed into his outfit and slipped the robe on over his shirt. Grabbing two apples, he slipped them in his robe pockets as he made his way out of the room and down the hall to the front door.

**Xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxx**

"_This is bigger than I expected."_ Byrne scratched his head as he reached the fence, which was over ten feet tall. It was no big deal to him, until he noticed the gate was locked with a large steel chain and lock.

"Guess I've got no choice." He leaped, grabbing the top of the fence and did a flip over, landing on the ground with a light "thud".

"Still got it." He looked from side to side, noticing there were no wolfos in sight. Squinting out into the distance, he spotted her. She was jumping from pole to pole as the wolfos followed close behind on the ground, panting and drooling as they tried to keep up with her. He began to walk toward them but stopped when he realized that there were at least twenty dogs surrounding her; and after what he had witnessed yesterday of what these dogs were actually capable of doing, he didn't think pissing them off would be the smartest idea right now.

"Better safe than sorry." He jumped on one of the poles with ease and made his way over to her while trying not to lose his balance.

"Giving up already?" Retsu laughed as she sat herself on top of a pole after noticing how tired the wolves looked. Some dogs panted and wagged their tails while others whimpered softly and looked up at her with pleading eyes as if begging her to come and play. But all that changed when she pulled a biscuit from her pocket. All became silent as she waved it back and forth, all eyes following it everywhere she moved it; until a low growl was heard, causing all of them to start growling at once.

"Damn, what's with you guys this morning?" She couldn't help but raise a brow as their growls soon turned into vicious barks.

"They must think I'm a threat." Retsu jumped at the new voice, causing her to lose her balance and fall backwards; until a hand shot out and grabbed hers, pulling her back into her spot with ease. Byrne stood beside her.

"Be careful, that would have been a nasty fall." He sat beside her.

"What are you doing up here?" She asked not even bothering to thank him.

"The gate was locked…And I didn't feel like being a new chew toy so early in the morning." He looked down at the very angry dogs and smirked.

"Nice choice. All right everyone, settle down!" Retsu snapped her fingers and in a matter of seconds, the dogs grew silent and sat down all at the same time.

"Amazing…It must have been a lot of work getting them to obey you all at once."

"That's what being Alpha female is all about." She pulled her arm back and launched the treat far out in the open. To his surprise, none of the dogs dared to move a muscle.

"Check this out, Hey Stone!" A wolfo in the far right barked.

"What's a train do when it blows its horn?" The wolf quickly stood on its hind legs and let out a long howl, then sat back down. Byrne began to laugh and slap his knee somewhat amused.

"All right go head!" All the dogs jumped at once and ran in the direction where the treat was thrown, leaving the two of them alone now.

"Do they all do tricks?" He asked after his laughter died down.

"Most of them, I don't force them to do anything they don't want to do."

"I see…" He dug in his robe pocket and tossed her one of the apples he brought.

"Thanks, So what are you doing up so early? I wasn't expecting you too be up for at least a few more hours." She took a bite of the fruit.

"We need to talk."

"If its questions on my power or anything related to that it'll have to wait." Byrne removed his robe and showed her the once torn up arm.

"My, you healed a lot faster than I thought."

"Don't give me that, are you the one who did this?" He had a wore a serious expression now.

"Maaaaybe." She giggled.

"You did, didn't you? How did you do it? These wounds would have taken at least a week or two to heal."

"I already told you, answers like that will have to wait." She grinned, until she was suddenly pulled into a awkward embrace.

"I don't know how much to thank you for this…" He smiled, enjoying her never ending warmth, until small hands pushed against his chest.

"You could start by not squeezing me so tightly." She breathed out, causing him to let her go rather quickly so she could catch her breath.

"Sorry..." He blushed, forgetting how strong he actually was.

"It's fine." She jumped down onto the ground at looked up at him.

"C'mon, let's go for a walk. We can talk along the way."

"What about them?" He pointed at the wolfos in the distance somewhat worried.

"They won't bother you while I'm around, trust me. I promised you I wouldn't let anything hurt you remember?" She laughed and began to walk off without him.

"Hey, wait up!" He quickly jumped off the fence and caught up to her. He couldn't help but let out a small sigh at her words.

"_I should be the one guarding you…"_

**End of Chapter**

**So tired…But I'm happy I finally got this done. I've gotten questions from a few authors asking about Retsu and her demonic powers. To those who asked and are reading right now, the answer is yes. Retsu is a demon, but Byrne has no clue yet and Retsu has no clue that Byrne is a lokomo. We'll get deeper into Retsu's past and etc later in the story. Trust me, this is only just the beginning. I don't want to spoil anything lol.**

**REVIEW PLEASE!**


	5. Dawn of Sorrow and Attraction

**Woo man; finally I got this chap finished. Sorry for taking so long, past month has been lazy for me and I've been just taking my sweet ass time with writing. What can I say; I love to sleep. And I've been out of town a lot, so no internet connection. So to make up for it, I made this chapter extra long. ENJOY WOOF!**

…**Snow Doggie = Love xD...**

"So where exactly are you from?" Byrne asked as they walked along the green of the wolf ranch.

"Here of course." She replied then inhaled the morning air.

"That's not what I meant and don't lie. I've never seen you around the land of Hyrule once in my life."

"Looks like you got me!" She raised her hands in the air as if in big trouble now.

"Can you just tell me where you came from? I don't see why it's such a big deal, I told you where I was from."

"Uh, no you didn't. But seeing that you're going to be here for a while, I guess I can tell you." Byrne nearly jumped when he felt something rub against him. A wolfo brushed past him and walked up to Retsu.

"We're from another land/world you might say, known as Ehecatl. Me, Kat, and all our other friends were born there." She got down on a knee and scratched his head, before shooing him off to play with the other dogs.

"Another world? I've never heard of such a place…"

"No one in hyrule does…We've never bothered to tell anyone." Retsu laughed and began walking again.

"Why not? It sounds like an interesting place."

"I'll tell you another time, I just…" She stopped for a moment.

"Hm?" Byrne stopped in his tracks as well.

"So! What race are you?" She turned around with a bright smile on her face.

"_She must really not want to talk about it…"_

"Um...Human of course." He replied, ignoring the fact that she was trying to change the subject; for now that is.

"You hesitated! You rotten liar!" She yanked at his hair and laughed.

"Ouch! I'm not lying, I am a human." He pushed her hand away and took a step back. Why was it that she always went for his hair?

"Since when do humans have long pointy ears?"

"So? That doesn't mean I'm not human." She walked up to him and gently took his face in her hands, causing him to flinch. Brushing some hair out of his face, she leaned in closer and he could feel his face begin to heat up.

"_Is she really going to…?"_

"If you're human…Then why do you have such intimidating gold eyes?" She let go of his face and grinned while he tried his best not to give her a look of disappointment.

"Well…I…"

"And not to mention that gauntlet you had on when I found you looked pretty deadly. That wasn't made by just anyone; I could feel strong power radiating from it."

"All right all right I give!" He raised his hands in a defensive manner and sighed knowing he had no choice now.

"Well?" Both continued walking now.

"Would you believe me if I told you I was a lokomo?"

"You're a lokomo!" Retsu nearly exclaimed.

"You seem rather surprised…I don't see what the big deal is."

"Why didn't you just tell me?

"I didn't think it would be important…And a little afraid you wouldn't believe me."

"I would have believed you, after what you confessed at the beach I kind of got a hint. I'm friends with a few of the lokomos around hyrule, their very kind.

"Wait, you know them?"

"Hells yeah I do. Besides Kat, The forest sage was sweet enough to teach me how to play the violin. Me and him would play all the time. And the fire sage is just plain crazy; he really knows how to throw a sake party!" they both laughed now.

"Why am I not surprised? Oh and…Do you know anyone by the name of Anjean?"

"Hm…doesn't ring a bell. Is she a friend of yours?"

Byrne chuckled and walked ahead of her now, not even bothering to answer her question.

"Maybe."

"Hey, wait up!" She quickened her pace to catch up with him.

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**

They continued to walk and talk along the green, a wolfo coming up to them every now and then to beg for a treat or a scratch behind the ear. They talked just about everything except their pasts and personal details, laughing every now and then until they reached the end of the fence.

"Let's take a break." Retsu got down and let her back fall to the ground, sprawling her arms out against the grass while letting out a relaxed sigh.

"So what exactly are you?" He sat down beside her, crossing his legs over each other.

"Just a lazy woman that loves to make masks and ride wolfos."

"I meant your race."

"I'm sure you already know by now I'm a demon"

"That was my first guess, seeing that your power is clearly unnatural. But you're not like any regular demon I've ever seen or met."

"Because I don't use my power for evil right? You forget I'm not from around here."

"…" He lied down now, crossing his arms behind his head.

"I'm not like other demons; I'm ten times stronger and smarter than any of them. And I didn't come to this world to cause trouble…I just wanted a peaceful place to call home, a place where me and my friends didn't have to worry about anything." She looked to the sky in a daze.

"Where are your other friends and family?"

"Besides Kat, two of our other buddies live in the snow realm and fire realm. They come by to visit every now and then."

"What about your real family? You never told me about them." He turned his head to the side to stare at her and she just chuckled.

"Dead…"

His eyes widened while she simply shut hers and sighed again.

"They were all killed, including Kat's…"

"I'm…So sorry, I had no clue they were…"

"You don't have to apologize, that was a long time ago. It doesn't really bother me anymore, put your past behind you and live for today right?" She sat up to and looked down at him with a confident smile on her face. He on the other hand was somewhat surprised by how calm and happy she looked about it.

"Yeah, your right." He nodded in agreement while she continued to stare at him.

"Hey, I know this is going to sound weird, but can you take your mask off for a minute?"

"Why?"

"I want to see this stubborn lokomo's face." She gave him a grin and he merely looked away.

"There's no need, I look like any other regular person."

"Please, Just for a second!" She gave him the best pleading look she could and he simply shook his head, pushing some hair out of his face.

"Maybe another ti-Hey! What are you doing!" Without even listening, Retsu jumped on top of him. When he tried to sit up and push her off him, she pushed him back down roughly with one hand, while using her other to grab both of his and pin them above his head. After minutes of trying to escape her grasp, he finally gave up and shot her a glare while she gave him a smirk; Cold yellow eyes trying to burn their way into the warm crimson ones.

"Let me go!"

"Calm down…You said you wanted to repay me didn't you? And I don't see how showing me what you really look like is much to ask for." She removed the hand from his chest and allowed a finger to hook under the top of his mask.

He knew she was making a point and felt like an idiot in a way. It wasn't that he didn't mind showing her; it was just that he hadn't shown his face to anyone in a long time and he couldn't help but feel a little shy. And after the little comment she had made about his eyes, he could only imagine what was to come next. He shut his eyes when he felt it slide all the way down to his chin and a small gasp followed by soon after.

"Oh my…Your."

"_Great…I knew I was hidi-"_

"Very handsome…" Byrne's eyes cracked open to find the woman blushing. He could feel a light blush begin to form on his face as well. Besides Anjean, she was the only other person to see his face in years. Once she released him from his bonds, he sat up and quickly pulled his mask back over his face.

"Don't ever do that again." Retsu only laughed as he tried his best to hide his blush.

"It would have been a lot easier if you would have just showed me willingly. I don't see what the big deal is; you're a pretty decent looking guy."

"It's a part of who I am; I've never taken it off."

"I think you should take it off more often and show the world who you really are." He looked up at her for a moment as she gave him a sweet smile and offered him a hand, which he took without question and allowed her to pull him up.

"I mean it; you look really good without it on; no reason to be shy." She punched his arm playfully and continued walking on, leaving him there somewhat lost and speechless. He pulled at his mask for a moment, and then smiled.

"_As long as it's you…I don't mind at all."_

"Hey, you going to stand there all day or what?" Byrne broke away from his thoughts when he felt his hand being grabbed and pulled from his spot.

**OoOoOoOOoOo**

"So what are you going to teach me first?" Byrne asked eagerly while Retsu dug threw her pockets; pulling out a few dog biscuits.

"Okay, I need to let you know something first. I'm not going to be training you just yet." Byrne gave her a confused look while she handed him the treats.

"What do you mean?"

"Did you honestly think I'd teach you anything without testing you first? For all I know you could be a complete waste of my time right now."

"I assure you I'll be worth every moment of your time. I've been training longer then you can imagine so you shouldn't have too much to worry about."

"That's not the point Byrne. With great power comes great responsibility and trust. As I've told you before, all my students have backstabbed me in the end. Even if you were disowned many times, how do I know you're not just another power hungry bastard like the rest?" Byrne gulped as she gave him one of her cold glares. He knew if he gave her a stupid answer, not only would she not teach him anything, but he feared he would also lose her trust in him; which would most likely ruin their friendship. He shut his eyes and sighed softly as memories of his days training alone filled his head. Retsu sighed as well and shook her head; she turned to walk away until something wrapped around her hand and pulled her backwards.

"I'm a lokomo." Retsu turned to face him while he gave her a proud expression.

"I'm a protector of this land and the spirits, you can trust me Retsu; I give you my word." Retsu smiled and he squeezed her hand to reassure her.

"All right, I believe you Mr. Guardian of the spirits. But that doesn't I'm letting you off the hook. You still have to pass my test."

"So be it, what do I have to do?"

"You have to become a member of the pack." Byrne raised a brow.

"What does that have to do with training me?"

"If you plan to stay here you have to earn the wolfos trust as well. They're guardians of this land and won't show any mercy to complete strangers. So when I'm not around, you'll be much safer. That and if you want to learn how to ride them."

"Okay then…So what do I have to do?"

"Well, you'd have to be accepted by the alpha male and female of the group. You've got my approval; all you need is alpha male."

"Who's the other alpha?" Retsu grinned and crossed her arms against her chest while Byrne froze in his spot when a low growl filled his ears. He slowly turned his head around to find the overgrown wolfo from yesterday standing behind him.

"Snow, he wants to be a rider and a member of our pack. I think he's worthy and fun enough to join. But I want your opinion as well." Retsu walked up to Snow and ran a hand through his fur, while he just licked his lips and began to bark loudly. All the scattered wolfos heads perked up, then began to make their way over to them; forming a circle around Byrne.

"What do you say guys?" Snow slowly made his way over to Byrne, sniffing him, and then began circling him while the other wolfos began to growl as if getting ready to attack. Byrne stood still as Snow circled him, doing his best to avoid eye contact with him and any of the other dogs, until Retsu began to wave to him. She repeatedly pointed to his hand full of treats, which he stared at for a moment before getting an idea.

"_Showing submission to the Alpha is a great way to show your respect."_

Byrne quickly got down on one knee and lowered his head, then slowly raised his treat filled hand out to Snow. He felt the hot breath of the wolf go from his head to his extended hand. The wolf sniffed his hand then growled, making Byrne nervous; until he felt the treats being licked out of his hand. A bark caused him to raise his head and to his surprise, the wolf leaned forward and licked his face.

"I guess that's a yes, ha-ha!" Retsu replied and launched herself at Byrne, wrapping her arms around his neck as he fell to the ground in surprise. Snow and all the other wolfos barked in excitement and followed after her, dog piling on the pair as Byrne tried to push them all off.

"All right guys, I think he's had enough." The wolfos quickly jumped off the pair, allowing Retsu to roll off the rather stunned lokomo.

"I'm going to kill you for that." Byrne coughed out as he tried to sit up.

"What? The little stubborn guardian can't handle the pack's welcome wagon? The same happened to me and Kat when we joined."

"I smell like a dog." He grunted in disgust while shaking his head; trying to overcome the dizzy feeling he was getting now as he tried to stand properly.

"Get used to it buddy, as long as you stay here that's all your going to be smelling like." She stuck her tongue and pulled his hair playfully, making him growl now.

"What have I told you about pulling my ha-" a single gold flower was presented to him suddenly, making him grow silent.

"This was in your hand the day I found you. I thought you might like it back." He accepted the flower with shaking hands; giving one of the petals a gentle squeeze as he felt his body grow warm with sudden happiness; completely forgetting about the hair pulling.

"Thank you…These flowers are very beautiful. What are they called?"

"Yellow Lilies; I've been planting them all over hyrule since last year. I didn't think such a common flower would be so popular around here."

"I really like them…The day I collapsed next to your garden, these were all I could think about before I passed out…It's like they changed my luck completely."

"Well I've got another garden of them in the back of the house if you ever just want to sit and admire them all day." Retsu laughed while Byrne became flustered and looked away for a moment.

"I'll get a vase of them for your room later. That should brighten it up a bit." Byrne nodded then offered her the flower she had given him, causing her to politely refuse and push it back toward him.

"You keep it; you're the one who picked it." Byrne shook his head and pushed some hair away from one of her ears and gently tucked the flower behind it.

"No, you keep it. I think it would look better on you anyway." He smiled and she giggled slightly while pushing some hair back.

"Thanks, I'll have to repay you a favor for that little compliment." She leaned forward and pinched one of his cheeks, causing him to gently push her hand away and think for a moment.

"Well if you want to repay me for that…Do you think you can tell me what you tell me about the cur-"

"Hey you two, what are you guys doing?" Both quickly averted their attention to the all too familiar voice, only to find Kat running toward them.

"Hey sis, just in time to welcome the new member of the pack!" Kat stopped for a moment to take a breather then looked at Byrne with cautious eyes.

"So he passed huh? Snow doesn't mind either?" She asked in a surprised tone now as few wolfos ran up to her as she spoke.

"Nope, tackled him to the ground with the rest of us ha-ha!" Kat smiled while bending over to pet some of the dogs, then began to laugh herself.

"Well, I guess that's good. It would be an honor for you to stay with us Byrne. I hope you're ready for a challenge, because we're no joke when it comes to discipline and fighting." Kat stood up and Byrne shook his head in agreement.

"I'll start training him tomorrow…Oh yeah, and I thought you were going out today Kat? What are you doing up this early?" Kat groaned irritably then threw a fist at Retsu which she quickly dodged before it could hit her.

"I am…I came out here to tell you its 7:00am and some people are still trying to sleep. And all I've been hearing for the past hour is your voices!" He pointed a finger to the pair and another to the dogs that surrounded them.

"Hey I'm sorry Sis. I didn't mean to wake you up so early." Retsu scratched the back of her head a little while Byrne brought a fist to his mouth and coughed; not before pushing Retsu forward as a way of saying it was her fault. Without a second thought, Kat quickly took the chance to kick the other girl across the face, sending her flying across the green and landing against the fence; head on. Byrne gasped in shock and slowly began to step back while Kat dusted herself off then turned to glare at the lokomo.

"I'm just going to let you know right now, piss me off and you'll get much more than just a kick; Understand?" Byrne had already taken off running toward Retsu by the time she finished her sentence. When he threw a glance over his shoulder to see if she was following him, he sighed with relief. She had already turned around and began to make her way back toward the exit, all the wolfos following behind her as if nothing happened to Retsu.

"_I just hope she's alright." _

"Owww, for the love of kami Kat!" Retsu whined as she tried to stand up, but ended up falling on her butt. She when she tried to move her legs, she grunted in pain then covered her face with a hand; they were both broken.

"Hey, are you alright?" Retsu removed her hand from her face to find Byrne standing before her.

"Well, besides the fact that both my legs are broken, I'm doing just fine!" Byrne gasped and she just laughed before extending her hand out in front of her.

"That's not even funny!"

"Relax; I've had it worse than this. Try having an arm ripped off and your body burned to a crisp." Her hand became enveloped in blue fire soon after, making the lokomo's eyes widen in surprise and get down on one knee to watch.

"That's fire…Does it burn?" Retsu merely shook her head and rested the hand against one of her legs, gritting her teeth as both her legs were consumed with blue flames.

"This is…The most powerful type of healing that we would use in my world, other known as the purifying fire. It can heal anything, broken bones, cuts and gashes off all kinds, bruises, you name it; seeing that you've already had a taste of its power. If I hadn't have used it on you, your wounds would have taken weeks to heal."

"So it doesn't burn at all?" Byrne asked curiously now and cautiously rested a hand against her healing leg and to his surprise it wasn't hot at all; it felt cool and soothing.

"In Ehecatl, each clan would bend a unique type of fire, and this is one of them. It took me years to master." The fire on her arm and legs subsided moments later, causing her to let out a soft sigh.

"Do you think it would be possible for me to learn to use it? It would really come in handy on my travels." Byrne asked hopefully as he removed his hand from her leg.

"I guess I could add that to your training but it won't be easy. It took me almost fifteen years to master completely, and with a friend's help too."

"Fifteen! Wait…How old are you exactly?" Retsu slowly stood and leaned against a post, gripping her chin with a hand as she began to think for a moment.

"Let's see…I've been here for about five years and in my old land for about…Hm." Byrne gave her a dumbfounded look.

"How can you not know your own age?"

"Well…I'd have to say twenty-four in human years. And my real life span so far would be at least ninety-eight."

"Wow…You're not too far away from me. I was thinking you were at least in your thirties…" Retsu sighed sadly, and then looked to the sky, that was slowly beginning to turn into the everyday blue.

"I know, that's one gift I wish I didn't have…"

"What do you mean?" Retsu looked down at her hands, uncertainty filling her warm crimson eyes as a sad smile began to form on her lips.

"The passing of time is different for me. Time does not leave its mark on me like it does for the natural world and humans. I stopped aging around my twenties; this is how I've looked for the past century."

"…"

"It's a burden really…I'll be forced to sit and watch as the people I love around me begin to grow older and older while I just sit and watch as they perish."

"What about Kat and your friends? Aren't they all immortal as well?"

"Yes…But that doesn't mean our time spans are the same. They age faster than I do; we're all different breeds sadly. And some tend to last longer than others, unless you're killed of course."

"Hmp…Your not the only one. Lokomos live very long life spans as well. I'm sure you've seen how they look since you've spent time with them in the past. I haven't grown much either in the last century, probably won't for another few hundred years. So even if the people you love do die someday, I'll still be around, until I'm killed that is." Byrne chuckled and looked at his own hands now.

"Yeah I guess…I just wish the wolfos had longer life spans. I mean, I've been taking care of them since they were pups and they just get bigger and bigger every day."

"Everything has to die sooner or later Retsu. You can't stay depressed over something like that; it's a part of life. We will all die one day, immortal or not. And a new generation will rise after we pass on." He replied.

"Yeah...Your right. But still, it would be nice if they did." She began to walk away toward the exit now which made Byrne smile and follow after her. "

"I don't know about you, but I think I've worked myself up an appetite. How does steak and eggs sound?" She offered he nodded in agreement.

"Sure, oh and by the way…Is Kat always that grumpy in the morning?"

"Ah not really, just when you wake her up on her days off, and a few other things but I'll let you know later." She grinned and pulled a lock of his messy hair, making him grunt but not complain, knowing she wasn't going to stop anyway.

**OoOooOoOoOooO**

Byrne pulled his hair back into his usual ponytail as Retsu made her way to the kitchen. After showing him around the house a little so he would be more familiar with things, she led him to the table and walked to the center of the kitchen and kicked the rug away, revealing a trapdoor.

"We keep most of our food and stuff down here. So if you ever just want something to snack on feel free to come down here and get whatever you want." She pulled the board door up and jumped into the darkness of the cellar.

"Do you need any help?" Byrne quickly got up from his seat and walked to the hole entrance and leaned over.

"Sure, take these." A hand rose from the entrance, holding out a package of meat with a box of eggs stacked on top. He took the stuff and set it on the counter while Retsu climbed out of the cellar with a clay pottery bottle in hand. Pushing the door closed, she took a sip from the bottle while gave her a look of disbelief.

"Are you drinking alcohol?" Instead of answering, she took another sip and got the stove started.

"You can't go wrong with sake my friend, try some." She tossed him the bottle and walked to a cabinet, pulling out a pan and some cups.

"No thanks."

"C'mon, just take a sip. That's the only kind of coffee you're ever going to get around here; it'll wake you right up." Byrne sat down again and put the bottle down, pushing it away.

"Suit yourself; you can get water from the sink then." She replied and dug threw a drawer, pulling out knives and other utensils. He rested his chin against his hand as he watched the woman work, growing somewhat nervous from time to time as she threw a knife up in the air and would crack an egg in the pan, then catch it without looking to cut a piece of meat off the big chunk. Seriously; it was like she was asking to get hurt. But on the other hand, it was somewhat amusing.

"I'll have it done for us in a few. Can you toss me the sake?" He chuckled and tossed the bottle her way, which she caught and took another long sip before setting it down on the counter top.

"Do you always drink this early?"

"Yes, but not all the time. I'm just in a really good mood; it's not every day we get a new member of the household." She walked up to the table and set a small cup in front of him, pouring some him sake.

"I don't want any."

"Please, just one? As a celebration of you joining our pack." Byrne sighed but complied, pulling down his mask as Retsu offered him a cup.

"To new friends!" they raised their glasses then downed their drinks.

"This is strong…" Byrne couldn't help but cough and slam his glass down while Retsu made her way back to another cabinet, pulling out two plates.

"Cherry blossom sake, best in hyrule." She replied as she fixed their plates.

"Retsu, ill be taking my leave now." Kat entered the kitchen suddenly, fully dressed with a small bag in hand.

"Well look who's up early. I thought you were going to sleep the whole morning through Sis." Retsu laughed and set a plate and utensils down in front of Byrne.

"Yeah, I probably won't be back until tomorrow or late tonight. So don't wait up for me on dinner. Oh, and I'll be taking Snow with me this time. So you'll be doing the night shift as well." Kat replied and made her away over to the stove.

"All right sounds good. Did you leave the list on my door? Make sure you tell me now before you go, don't want another set of broken legs in the morning."

"If you screw up it will be your arms as well. Anyway, see you guys later! Oh and you look really good without you mask Byrne." Kat replied as she quickly made her way out the front door.

"Man, I wonder why she's in such a hurry." Byrne began to chuckle as he took a bite of his food.

"What's so funny?" He pointed his fork to the stove and Retsu growled lowly. Her plate of food was gone.

"She could have asked me to make her some. God I hate it when she does that." She sighed and sat in an empty seat across from Byrne.

"You can have my portion if you want. I don't eat very much anyway." He pushed his plate toward her, but she simply shook her head and pushed it back.

"No you need to e-"

"So do you; I don't mind sharing." He interrupted and offered her a fork. She shrugged and accepted it.

"Well aren't you sweet, Kat would stab me in the hand if I ever tried to touch her plate ha-ha!" She took a bite of food and smiled.

"I'll keep that in mind if I sit next to her at the table." Both of them laughed now. After the food was all gone, they quickly cleaned the dishes and headed upstairs to find the note Kat had left nailed to the door.

"Okay let's see…Man, she left me a long list." Retsu scratched the back of her head while Byrne looked over her shoulder.

"What do you want me to do? I'll do you anything you wish."

"Well since you just healed and still getting used to things around here, I won't give you too much work to do."

"No, split half the list for me. That way we make it even."

"I knew you'd say that, I guess I can give you one job that I hate most. C'mon, let's go." She stuffed the list in her pocket and led the lokomo outside.

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**

"I just had to open my mouth…This is ridiculous." Byrne grumbled in annoyance as scooped another pile of dog poop in a wheel barrel.

"Might want to work a little faster, you've still got a whole mile of acre to search." Retsu laughed out and got back to her own work. All the wolfos had gathered around her while she one by one, filed their claws.

"Isn't there anything else I can do, surely this isn't the only you have to do?"

"Oh quit your complaining. I'm going to make you stronger and you can't even do a simple job of picking up dog crap in return? Maybe I should just have Snow teach you a lesson when he gets back." She grinned while grumbled again and dragged the wheel barrel to another spot.

"At least do half the field, and if you do a good job I'll do the rest after I'm done with these guys. I'll give you an easier job after."

"I can handle that. So tell me, how many dogs do you have exactly? They must be quite a hand full."

"Twenty-six all together; most of them were just pups when I found them so training them wasn't so hard."

"What about Snow? A wolfo that big must be at least in its mid twenties, or even older."

"He's about fifteen years old. When I made my first trip to the snow realm a few years ago, I instantly fell in love with these guys. But I couldn't get anywhere near the pack due to Snow, he would always chase me away or try to attack me; Very protective and always on guard. So I did whatever I could to be one of the group; sort of what like you did today."

"Get tackled and suffocated? "

"No, fight one of the dogs and in the end I won. So I got to study them more and their ways more closely. Over time me and him became closer. Hunting together, recruiting more wolfos for his pack, playing endless tag in the forest…It felt amazing, just being one with nature. They taught me many things I wouldn't have learned on my own."

"What would that be?"

"You'll see when we start your training. Me and you will spend a day in the forest. I'm sure you'll enjoy it." Byrne smiled as he dumped another pile of manure in the bin; he liked the sound of that.

"Retsu let me do the whole field. That way you don't have to wait for me and you can get the rest done."

"Um, okay then. I'll call for you when I get lunch started later. Retsu stood from the ground in stuck the metal file in her pocket. She had already finished all the wolves.

"So be it." She nodded then made her way into the stables close by, all the wolfos following after her. He wiped the sweat off his forehead and slowly began to his unwrap the bandana off his face, along with the robe he wore over his shirt.

**5 hours later…**

"Finally…" Byrne shut the fence gate and slowly pushed the wheel barrel forward. After searching the field over three times for any remaining manure, he had decided it was clean enough for Retsu's liking and began to make his way back. He was confident he had picked up every last piece; seeing he had to make at least 5 trips to the spot Retsu had told him to dump the poop and back. All that mattered to him was that he had got the job done, so she wouldn't have to do it later.

Dumping the last of the manure in the big pile, he set the barrel and shovel aside and began to make his way back to the house, figuring she was already finished with her duties. To his surprise, he found her on the porch floor, a stack of freshly carved masks at her side while her worked skillfully worked on a new piece of wood. There was also a small tray with a bowl of rice and chopsticks sitting on a chair.

"Have you finished?"

"Yes, I made sure every last piece was picked up. So you don't have to worry about looking over everything." He replied tiredly and made his way over to the chair, picking up the tray and sitting down.

"I believe you. Thank you very much for taking care of it for me. Next time I'll help you so it won't take so long."

"Is everything else done?" He asked and took a bite of rice. She nodded and blew some wood shavings robe sleeve as she continued to carve the wood into a nice oval shape. By the time he had finished and set the tray done, she was already carving in the finishing touches and inspecting for any mistakes. He leaned over and picked up one of the finished masks, gently running his fingers over it.

"You really have a talent, have you ever thought of selling these? I bet people all over hyrule would buy them."

"Thanks, I do actually. I put ads up in all the villages for them. I usually get at five to ten buyers a week."

"Impressive, I bet you make a lot of them. These are very fine pieces of work."

"Not really, I don't sell them for too much. Kat is really the only one making us a living."

"What does she do?"

"She runs a music shop in the castle town with her boyfriend. She also gives music lessons to people all around Hyrule. And whenever someone wants to buy an instrument from out of town, I deliver them for her."

"That's interesting. So you're both pretty busy."

"Not usually, I'm home most of the time and half of the money we get goes to the wolfos food and supplies I use for crafting. I don't really go shopping in civilized places unless it's for things I really need. So I get most of our food from hunting or the fruit trees in the backyard."

"I see…" Byrne got up from the chair to sit right next to her.

"Yeah, I'm still not really used to living in a human's environment. Plus things have been kind of crazy lately with the spirit tracks disappearing and reappearing.

"Oh really?" Byrne pretended to be surprised and couldn't help but begin to become somewhat nervous.

"Yeah, something that has to do with this demon called Malladus. I don't know much about him but I heard the tracks disappearing are linked to him in a way. And apparently there is a rumor that princess Zelda had been kidnapped as well." Retsu replied in distaste and grabbed a small board of wood while Byrne tried his best not to gulp.

"I'm sure things will get better soon. The tracks are starting to reappear correct? And I'm sure the princess is fine. If she was kidnapped there would most likely be a man hunt for her and every village would hear about it."

"I hope your right…Because if I find out if she really was, then I'm going to hunt down whoever did and make them pay." Byrne instantly froze when the board in her hand was crushed to bits. The deadly look in her eyes now made him feel even more uncomfortable. He could only imagine what would happen to him if he had told her the truth. He had planned to sooner or later but he knew now wasn't the right time, not with that vicious look she held in her eyes.

"I will do everything in my power to protect this land; my new home. I wasn't able to do it in the past, but I plan to do it now. My days of running and hiding are over." Retsu stood from her spot to look out into the distance. Her cold gaze turned warm once more and Byrne sighed with relief now; looking up at her for a moment. It was strange how she could be so sweet and playful at one moment, and then turn vicious and protective when something was wrong. For a demon she was indeed pretty strange, but deep down that's what he liked best about her. He found it both somewhat amusing and…Attractive.

"Beautiful…"

"What was that?" Retsu looked down at him for a moment, making him instantly cough and look away.

"N-nothing, I mean I- So! Do we have any more work to do?" He tried his best to change the subject, making Retsu raise a brow for a moment.

"No…Most of the work had to do with the wolfos. Are you feeling alright or has the heat out here gone to your head?"

"I'm fine, just a little tired is all." Retsu leaned down to stare him in the eye while he tried his best not to give her a nervous smile. That was until she gave him a look of disgust and backed away from him.

"You smell horrible." Byrne blinked and brought an arm up to his nose then quickly pulled it away, she wasn't lying there, he smelt worse than a dog.

"Well after spending half the day around dog crap I wouldn't be surprised. I'll bathe later."

"Oh hell no, you're not stepping foot in the house until your clean. C'mon, let's go rinse in the ocean." Retsu removed her robe and jumped off the porch; making her way out to the shore while Byrne followed behind.

"Why not just let me use the bathroom?"

"Because I don't want the house smelling like an animal farm. Smells like that tend to linger for a while and I don't think Kat would appreciate that when she steps foot in the house tonight." Byrne sighed but agreed. The last thing he wanted was to get his ass beat by an angry Kat.

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo**

"C'mon, it's not that cold!" When they had reached the spot where they had sat yesterday, Retsu wasted no time and jumped in the water; swimming out in the far open while he stopped until the water reached his knees.

"Are you just going to stand there all day or what? You're not coming in the house until that stench is gone, so you might as well get it over with now." She laughed and dived down.

"This water is freezing woman! How can you even swim in something like this?" Byrne yelled and continued walking until the water reached his shoulders. The water was beyond freezing, but at least he didn't feel as tired or hot anymore.

"You'll get used to it. This is the best way to come clean of stenches like that." Byrne jumped and turned around to find Retsu behind him, pushing her wet hair back.

"Don't scare me like that!"

"You want scary? I'll show you scary!" She laughed and dived down again. Filling with slight panic for a moment, he quickly tried to make his way out of the water. Until suddenly, one of his legs were grabbed onto and his entire body was dragged underwater. Before he could even try to break free, he found himself 10 feet above the water and smacked face first out in the open sea. Retsu remerged to the surface and smirked.

"That's the kind of strength you're going to be dealing with tomorrow, so you might want to get used to that too." Byrne coughed loudly as he slowly swam back toward the shore.

"I'll keep that in mind…And you're going to regret that just so you know."

"Oh chill out, you had to admit that was a little fun right?" She grinned as they walked out. He soon found himself grinning as well as he secretly pulled something out of his pocket.

"No…But I am going to enjoy this!" Retsu turned to face him and was rewarded with a sea sponge to the face, causing her to scream and fall backwards. Before she could even had a chance to yell at him, he had already taken off into the distant laughing. She quickly jumped to her feet and chased after him.

"You're going to pay for that lokomo!"

"What's the matter woman? Can't take a joke?" He laughed even harder as she continued to chase him around the beach.

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**

"So Kat has a boyfriend?" Byrne asked as he removed his shirt and began to shake it free of the sand Retsu had shoved down his shirt after being caught by her.

"Yes, his name is Nyoka. He helped Kat open the music shop and one thing led to another. They've been dating ever since." She sighed and began to draw in the sand a little.

"You don't sound happy about it."

"No, it's not that I'm not happy for them. Nyoka, it's just that he's…"

"Let me guess, he's a human right?" He threw his shirt over his shoulder and took a seat next to her.

"Yes, I didn't agree with their relationship in the beginning. I was afraid if he found out what our race was he'd bring us trouble. Not to mention our time spans lasting longer than humans…But he actually took it rather lightly and agreed to keep it a secret. He's a very sweet man, and as long as Kat is happy, nothing else matters to me."

"I understand that. Do you have one as well?" He asked curiously now and looked at her for a moment.

"Your pretty nosey for a lokomo you know that?" She elbowed him in the side and he smiled.

"Just tell me, I don't see what the big deal is."

"Fine no, I don't have one and probably never will. I don't date humans and that's all I'm really going to get in this world."

"Oh…Well, you shouldn't give up. I'm sure you'll find someone sooner or later."

"Thanks…I'm sure you'll find someone as well, it's not like you'll be going anywhere either." She smiled confidently and punched him in the shoulder in a playful matter.

"Actually, there has been something I have been meaning to tell you. I almost nearly forgot about it." He frowned and looked away now.

"What? What's wrong?"

"I won't be around for much longer I'm afraid…"

"What do you mean?" He sighed.

"I forgot you haven't been around here for too long. So you don't know the lands history do you?" She shook her head.

"Well, it all started about a hundred years ago."

The whole time he talked and explained, she stayed silent and listened in amusement. That was another thing he liked about her. Every time they talked, she would never interrupt him and make any comments about how he felt about certain things, not like Cole and the other lokomos did; besides Anjean from time to time. By the time he finished explaining things, she was already deep in thought and had a sad expression on her face.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner, I was thinking the other lokomos already told you these things."

"No it's all right. So once Malladus is killed, you'll really disappear huh?" He took note to the disappointment in her voice now.

"I'm afraid so, once the land is at peace we will no longer be needed and descend back into the heavens. Even though I really don't want to, not after all that I've done."

"I see…I really wish it wasn't true either, but if it's destined I guess it can't be helped."

"I'm sorry…"

"Don't be sorry, you've done nothing wrong. And you know, everyone is forgiven sooner or later Byrne; no matter what the crime is."

"_I'm not sure helping revive one of the cruelest beasts the land has known and kidnapping a princess for her body…Can be forgiven so easily…"_

"Yeah, I hope your right." He leaned back and continued to watch the ocean before them; closing his eyes moments later when a cool breeze brushed over them.

"_We've found a kind of paradise in a flowers bloom.  
_

_We've seen the end of a mystic land so close it meets the parting sun.  
_

_We've shared the thoughts that two could share, we feel the truth, magic that we send..._

Searching for something new…  


_Isle of Gold in flowers bloom..."_

Byrne turned his attention toward the woman beside him as she stopped for a moment to take a breath, "I didn't know you could sing so well."

"I don't think it's that great. I do it every once in a while when I'm in a good mood."

Without even thinking he scooted closer to her. Resting his head against her shoulder, he left out a soft sigh. "I beg to differ. I think it sounds wonderful…Please continue."

Retsu gave him a strange look as he made himself comfortable against her. She really didn't how to react to something like this, so she simply shrugged it off and focused her attention on the sea again.

"_We've__ heard a kind of paradise beyond the desert's dunes.  
_

_We've walked the earth in solitude, so cold we need the warmth of sun.  
_

_We've lived the life that we could live; we see the truth magic that begins..._

Searching for something new  


_Isle of Gold in flowers bloom"_

As she continued to sing, the lokomo couldn't help but let out a yawn and smiled. Her voice was soft and relaxing to the ears; he would have to remind her to sing for him whenever they got a chance to be alone like this again. Yawning again, he felt his eyelids begin to drop as sleep began to consume his thoughts. Even though he had only been awake for a few hours, he was tired and really didn't feel like moving. By the time he fell completely asleep, Retsu had finished her song.

"I hope you enjoyed that…I think you're the only lokomo I've sung for so far." She turned to face him and was rewarded with a soft snore, causing her to frown slightly.

"Geez, if you were that tired you could have told me; you stubborn monkey." She sighed and tried nudging his head off her shoulder, causing the sleeping form to only cuddle closer to her.

"You're lucky I like you, or else I'd tear you limb from limb." She mumbled and stared at him for a moment, trying to figure out what to do. A light blush began to form on her cheeks as she found herself leaning closer to his face and without even thinking, she gently placed a soft kiss against his forehead. She quickly pulled back in slight panic when she felt him lift his head for a moment and left out a groan, but sighed with relief when his head dropped back down.

"_What the hell am I doing? I barely know him and yet here I am doing things like this. Not to mention he's half naked and practically laying on me. Ugh, Thank god Kat isn't here to see this, I'd probably die of embarrassment and never hear the end of it from her. Not to mention what he would think if he had woken up…"_

"Probably just stutter in fear and run away…" Sighing again, she buried her face in one of her hands. She was so confused right now that she was beginning to become angry.

"_How can he be so comfortable around me? He has no idea what he's getting himself into…"_ She growled now as her left arm began to throb in pain. Gripping it with a hand, she turned her attention toward it and watched as the once pale skin of her arm began to slowly turn scaly and gray.

"_**Why so weak…? He's just using you like all the others did…Are you a fool?"**_ An all too familiar sinister voice filled her head, making her smirk despite the pain she was in.

"Leave me alone...He's not a threat."

"_**Your pathetic…Kill him now and get it over with."**_

"Shut up…" She dug a sharp canine in her bottom lip to quiet herself as her claws began to rise out and sink into her skin.

"_**That's right, free all the hatred you hold for me…Use it to kill him…Do it now!"**_

"You wish." She grinned and allowed her claws to completely sink into her skin. Warm blood ran down her arm and into the sand as beads of sweat began to form on her brow.

"_**That won't work forever…I'll find a way to free myself and take control. You need this…I can help you..."**_

"The only thing I want you to do is disappear…" She gripped her arm harder and began to drag her hand down her arm, claws cutting through the flesh of her arm like butter. "I won't let you win that easily." She sighed now and quickly released her arm as the scales began to sink back in her skin and the gray color slowly began to fade. Minutes later, her skin once again was back to its normal color, despite the blood everywhere. Panting slightly now, she turned her attention to the sleeping lokomo that was surprisingly, still leaning on her as if nothing happened.

"We'll just see who survives in the end…" She chuckled now as black fire consumed her wounded arm.

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**

Byrne's eyes snapped open as a rather loud clanking sound filled his ears, "what the hell?" He quickly realized that everything was pitch black and that he was laying down on something soft and warm; most likely a bed.

"_Was I really asleep that long? Why didn't she wake me up?"_

After letting his eyes adjust to the darkness, he jumped off the bed and made his way to the door, but stopped when another loud clanking noise echoed through the room. "You've got to be kidding me, she's still up?"

Making his way toward the large window, he peeked out and looked around. The air was calm, and there wasn't a wolfo in sight in the gated area. The only thing that caught his eye was a faint light coming from the stables, followed by a few barks. "Why didn't she tell me she had more work to do?"

"_Hm…Kat's probably home already and I don't think waking her up would be smart right now. I guess I have no choice." _After managing to find his discarded shirt from earlier, he wasted no time and jumped out the window. Landing on the ground with a quiet thud, he made his way toward the gate and did the same thing with ease. A low growl made him flinch as he looked up to find Snow standing before him.

"Oh…It's just you." He sighed and stood while Snow leaned over to sniff him. "

"What's that woman up to?" The overgrown wolf snorted and turned around. Slapping the lokomo hard upside the face with its bushy tail as it made its way to the large doors of the stables.

"Damn mutt! What was that for?" Byrne growled and clenched the side of his face in pain while Snow gave him a wide toothy grin now and wagged his tail; making him even angrier.

"I can already tell we won't be getting along anytime soon." He grumbled while the wolf simply rolled its eyes and stood to press its front paws against the large door, opening it half way for him to enter. He backed away soon after to let the lokomo pass, who muttered a quiet "thank you" before entering quietly.

Byrne sighed softly as he surveyed his surroundings. Hay covered almost every inch of floor of the room, along with many sleeping wolfos, which were scattered around. Carefully stepping over a few, he began to become a little nervous when he found a few skulls and traces of blood on the wooden walls.

"That would have been you if you hadn't agreed to be a part of the pack." A voice laughed; making Byrne flinch for a moment.

He looked up to find Retsu at the end of the room. She was on one knee in front of an anvil in some sort of workshop, carefully working away on what to his surprise, appeared to be his gauntlet. Weapons covered the wall behind her, which shined brightly by the light of a lantern nearby. There was also a large barrel water and big stack of wood in the corner. "So you just let them eat anyone they please?" Byrne asked as he made his way over to her.

"No, only those who appear to be a threat. Believe it or not, we do get a few thieves from time to time; Mostly bulblins. I'm afraid they just don't know when to quit." She laughed again and looked up from her work to wipe some sweat off her forehead.

"That's understandable…And this is remarkable! I didn't know you were a blacksmith as well." His eyes widened now as he surveyed all the weapons that hung on the wall behind her, including a few pieces of knight's armor.

"Not really, think of me more of as craftswoman that can make pretty much anything." He smiled and took a seat next to her as he watched her skillful hands work at his weapon. "You didn't have to fix it, I could have done it myself you know."

"Hey, it's the least I can do for a friend. Besides, I want to make sure your fully prepared for tomorrows training," She replied and reached for a small screwdriver on the ground.

"Oh, speaking of training…There's something I need to talk to you about…"

"When don't you have something to tell me?" She smiled and motioned for him to continue.

"I do want you to train me and all…But is there a way you can make it short? Not that I'm trying to rush you or anything, I just can't stay here for long I'm afraid. There are…Companions that still need my help and I can't let them down." He confessed while she sighed and set down her tools for a moment.

"Your just like all my other students…They didn't want to learn the importance of my lessons and would always try to rush me…Always power this and power that."

"No! Not like that, I didn't mean it like-

She placed against his lips to silence him. "Stop rambling. Its fine, you're a different case so I can't get upset…I can make it shorter, but it won't be easy." He nodded and gripped her hand with both of his.

"If it means becoming stronger, then I'll do anything you ask. I promise not to disappoint you, just tell me what I have to do." He replied confidently while she rolled her eyes and pulled her hand away from his to continue her work.

"I've heard people say that so many times that I just don't know what to expect or believe anymore." With a final tighten of a screw and a tap of a hammer; she lifted the gauntlet off the anvil to examine for a moment.

"I gave you my word Retsu. And even if you don't believe me, I still want to prove it to you because…" He hesitated for a moment, trying to find the right words. Retsu set the gauntlet down for a moment to stare at him.

"I will do anything to earn your trust...I know that we barely know each other and all. But believe it or not, out of all the people I've met, you and Kat are probably the people I trust most. So now I want to earn yours, no matter what it takes." He replied confidently and looked away for a moment to hide the small blush that began to form on his cheeks, only to come face to face with the over grown wolfo he wasn't too fond of, causing him to jump back now while Retsu began to laugh.

"Why won't you just leave me alone?" He nearly shouted as the wolf stepped over him to sit next to Retsu, who was still laughing up a storm as she wrapped an arm around his head and brought it next to hers. "And will you stop laughing? I don't see how any of this humorous when I was trying to be serious."

"I'm sorry! For a moment there I was thinking you were going to give me a love confession or something! Just the way you were beginning to talk, man was I fooled!" She slapped a hand against her knee while Snow gave him another one of his toothy grins, as if laughing as well.

"Why in Hyrule would you think that? Ugh, never mind. If you're just going to continue making a fool of yourself and laugh at me, then I'm leaving." He huffed annoyed now and began to get up, until a paw pushed against his chest, forcing him back to the ground. "What the hell are you doing?" He growled and tried to push the wolfo off him now, who continued grinning and only pushed his paw harder against him.

"Is that any way to treat your superiors?" asked calmly now and crossed her arms over her chest; glaring down at the lokomo now.

"I don't have to show you any respect."

"If you're going to be my apprentice you will." She smiled when he stopped struggling and gave her a blank look. "Wait a minute…You'll really-

"Listen…What you said made me think and I realized I was being unfair. Your right, we hardly know each other. But for the past few days since I found you, you've done nothing wrong and have been very…Sweet and interesting to talk to. Plus Snow and the other wolfos don't seem to have a problem with you, so I really have no reason to reject you." It was her turn to look away while he took everything in of what she just said.

"But I'm warning you right now. If you betray me or and have been lying to me in anyway, your trip back to the spirit world will not be pleasant in the slightest." She replied in that cold voice that would send a chill down his spine.

"I promise…" Snow removed his paw, allowing him to get up now. He gently rubbed his chest for a moment, then turned his attention to Retsu again, who's expression still didn't change. "Are you okay?"

She ran a hand through her hair and smiled. "Don't make a girl a promise…If you know you can't keep it all right?" He nodded and smiled as well. _"So far so good"_

"Anyway, Test your gauntlet out and let me know how it works for you." She yawned now and began to clean up her work station while he quickly grabbed his beloved weapon and slipped it on. He practice punched a few times and moved his fingers around. Then removed the hand shot for a moment to check if it was still working. "It works perfectly, thank you again for fixing it."

"No problem. Oh, and I placed a heat resistant charm on it. That will help prevent the whole thing from melting onto your arm when you start learning to master the fire arts." She pointed out while Byrne raised his hand to find a small shiny black stone imbedded in the center of his hand.

"I see…Oh yes, so how long will your training take?" He asked eagerly now, making her chuckle and think for a moment.

"Well it all depends on how hard you intend to work. If you're willing to do everything I say without complaint, not be so stubborn all the time, and follow all my instructions correctly…I'd say at least a week." She replied while Byrne began to think now.

"_That doesn't seem too long…I'm sure the boy and Zelda will be fine for now as long as Anjean helps them out. Malladus has only been alive for a few days, so I'm sure it he won't be fully possessing Zelda's body anytime soon. That should be more than enough time._

"That's good enough for me; I accept your conditions and will do anything you ask."

"Good, we'll start first thing in the morning!" She jumped in excitement while Snow panted and wagged his tail. "Oh and just so you know, I'm not training you for free." She grinned now while he groaned.

"I take it I won't be getting any decent sleep for the next few days will I?"

"That depends on how hard you intend to work. But don't worry; I'll be there to help you all the way through. Punch it my friend." She raised a fist to him to him now, still grinning while he gave her a confused look.

"What do you want me to punch?" Rolling her eyes now, she grabbed onto his metal hand, gently forming it into a fist, and pushed it against hers. "This is what me and my friends back in Ehecatl would do to show respect. It's sort of like a high five you might say, except we use our fists…"

"Oh I get. Forgive me; this is all new to me in a way." He scratched the back of his head embarrassed, until something scratched his side. He looked over to find Snow raising his paw to him, as if mimicking Retsu. Smiling now, he raised his fist over to the wolfo, "Punch it." Snow barked, then stood on his hind legs and head butted him; causing the lokomo to slam against the wall.

"He sure punched you." She covered her mouth with a hand to hold back her laughter while he gripped his head and tried to stand properly. "Not….Funny."

"He's alpha and I'm the omega. But who knows, maybe you'll take his place by the end of the week."

"Not maybe, I know I will. That is definite promise." He raised a fist to her, which she quickly punched and laughed as he tried to regain his composure. After wishing her over grown companion goodnight, the two quietly made their way into the house and parted to their bedrooms for the night. As soon as Retsu shut her door, she slumped against it and grabbed a hold of her arm as it throbbed in pain like before.

"_And so it begins…"_

**End of chapter**

**Finally, this took forever to right. Sorry that I didn't post anytime sooner. As I've said, out of town and no internet. Plus I've been focusing on poetry and a few new ideas for other stories. Busy woof and school is right around the corner. PIE PWNS ALLLLL!**

**Review plz!**


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